Vince Brannigan wrote:



Bill Schnakenberg wrote:

Ogden Johnson III wrote:

"Njord" wrote:



Hmm, replying to my own post. But wondering if this has anything to
do with
the expression 'to pull the pin'?




Hand grenade pins and belaying pins have nothing in common.

Nor do police badges. In PD jargon (at least in the NYPD), 'to pull
the pin' means to retire. In olden days, the badge was secured to the
uniform with a large separate safety pin. Later badges had a pin as
an integral part of the badge. Pulling the pin meant that the badge
was removed forever.


I never heard any NYPD person refer to it as anything other than a
"shield"

I was not a NYPD cop. I call it a badge. Whether the NYPD calls it a
'shield', or the slang word 'tin', does it change the meaning of my
message?
I invite you to go to this official NYPD page. Read the very last paragraph.
http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/ch...d-history.html