From Niesha Lofing:
Some Roseville police officers are sporting new badges from a bygone era.
Officer Lance Young, the police department's historian, had a silver circle star badge designed to honor the city's 100th anniversary, police spokeswoman Dee Dee Gunther said in a news release.
Some officers and police personnel have purchased the badges at their own expense and are planning to wear them on their uniforms throughout the year, she said.
Police retirees also were offered the chance to purchase the commemorative badges.
The circle star badge was widely used by law enforcement during the late 1800s and early 1900s and is a familiar emblem of the American West, Gunther said.
The department has a faded photo from 1909 that shows Roseville City Marshal Frank Rossman in civilian clothing, wearing a circle star badge on his vest.
Back then, police in the young railroad town consisted of city marshals and night watchmen who used the Barker Hotel on Lincoln Street as their headquarters, she said.
Officers who chose not to purchase the special badges will continue to wear their city-issued badges, a seven-point star that includes the words "Roseville Police" and the state seal.
The badges are not available for purchase by the general public.
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