Detroit PD gun picture thread?!!!!

Nice call box WhiteCoyote. Identical to the ones I used in the late 70s while walking a beat in the 7th Precinct. The last one I used was at E Grand Blvd and Gratiot across from a Coney Island where I ate on occassion.
I actually miss those days. Walking a beat is very interesting and keeps you more in touch with the community.

I used to hear a lot of "Ben Turpin" stories from the old timers in the neighborhood while walking.

Ben Turpin was one of Detroit's first black officers and is a legend on Detroit's east side. He carried two 45 caliber revolvers and was to have made his own bullet proof vest from a piece of boiler plate with leather straps. Naturally he worked one of the highest crime areas in Detroit, that being the old "Black Bottom" of "Paradise Valley". Other wise known as Hastings street and surrounding area. This I believe was part of the old "Hunt Street Precinct" which later became precinct #7.
Story goes that he actually killed one of the Purple Gang. He also ran a youth baseball league, much like the current day police athletic leagues.
 
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Chief of Detective's Badge

This is a great looking badge, and you are correct about the age and maker. I am a long time DPD badge collector, and would love to add this to my collection. If you ever decide to let it go, please consider contacting me first as I will surely make you a very fair and reasonable offer, and it would join perhaps the largest DPD badge collection around. Bob
[email protected]

My Detroit Police Chief of Detective Badge made around 1900. I was told that there are only about 5 Detroit Police badges made like this. This is the only Chief of Deceive Badge of this design (to date). What makes it different is the ridge around the badge is a separate piece that is molded to the badge. It is 10 K gold filled and is most likely made by Weyhing Brothers in Detroit. This badge was made before the makers stamped names and gold content.

When I received it I was told the chief that retired in 1920 gave it to the Chief that retired in 1930. I have had it about 33/34 years.[/QUOTE]
 
OK, I'll put up my new to me model 10-5. Anyone have a clue on the manufacture date? Serial #D269474. I know the grips are not correct, I just like target grips better. My dad retired from DPD in 1996 with 35 on, I think he will like the memento. He hasn't seen it yet, but will very soon....

Ted.
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A little nostalgia from nova printex. I bet you won't find these at the typical police collector shows...or wold you?
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This has nothing to do with Detroit.....But shortly after this photo was taken, I thought I was going get to witness an actual caning. The guy in the hat tried to sell me some weed and his sister on a back alley in Nassau. So I snitched on him to the Bahamian police....Alas, it must take more to get a caning than dope peddling and pimping. The very polite policeman is carrying a piece of cane about 36 inches long with a metal band on one end. No gun, just the cane.
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Remington 870? High Standard?
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The gun that won the West (side). East side too! During efforts to suppress the "urban rebellion", cops didn't appreciate having to wear white helmets which drew fire to their noggins, hence the efforts at ghetto expedient camouflage pictured here.
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Here we have a "come as you are" gun. Another interesting thing about these pictures: No name tags. Try to put down a riot now without name tags and audio and video 24/7.
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i just bought a 1970 .38 model 10-5 marked Detroit police if u are still looking for one
 
I've seen a few on gunbroker in the past and am currently looking for a Detroit Police marked gun.


i have one available if you are still looking it is a 1970 .38 special model10-5 5 in barrel holds 6 and is marked detroit police
 
Don't own a PD marked gun but have my Dad's old model 10-5 4" pencil barrel unmarked duty gun. Up here in the wilderness that's called "New England" we don't seem to mark our guns like the big city does. I do find these old PD gun threads most interesting though.
 
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What are those Detroit Police Department marked 5: Nickle plated S&W 10s in the gray box UNISSUED are bringing these days. I have 4 of them unfired & unissued in their boxes plus one that is a shooter. Have seriously concidered selling a couple after New Years. I know the one I shoot a lot is one great shooter.
 
What are those Detroit Police Department marked 5: Nickle plated S&W 10s in the gray box UNISSUED are bringing these days. I have 4 of them unfired & unissued in their boxes plus one that is a shooter. Have seriously concidered selling a couple after New Years. I know the one I shoot a lot is one great shooter.

I bought 5 of them a few years ago for about $300.00 each. I offered them to sale to some cops for the price I paid plus shipping and FFL fee and sold a few and many old guys balked that I was trying to take advantage of them. I thought it was a good price. Two of them had sequential DPD numbers.
 
A little nostalgia from nova printex. I bet you won't find these at the typical police collector shows...or wold you?

This has nothing to do with Detroit.....But shortly after this photo was taken, I thought I was going get to witness an actual caning. The guy in the hat tried to sell me some weed and his sister on a back alley in Nassau. So I snitched on him to the Bahamian police....Alas, it must take more to get a caning than dope peddling and pimping. The very polite policeman is carrying a piece of cane about 36 inches long with a metal band on one end. No gun, just the cane.





The gun that won the West (side). East side too! During efforts to suppress the "urban rebellion", cops didn't appreciate having to wear white helmets which drew fire to their noggins, hence the efforts at ghetto expedient camouflage pictured here.
94.jpg

Here we have a "come as you are" gun. Another interesting thing about these pictures: No name tags. Try to put down a riot now without name tags and audio and video 24/7.
sxs.jpg

It's possible that model 94 is a DPD issue. I grew up in Detroit but at the time I was eligible to join the police department, 1973, there was huge racial tension in the City, as the police chief was running for mayor against a state senator named Coleman Young. Anyway, I ended up in Indianapolis, where about 25 years later I met a Glock instructor who was retired DPD. We had a great afternoon talking about my home town, and swapping stories. He spent a number of years on the firearms training unit, and told me of the first day he spent on the unit. He was deep into the sub basement of the Headquarters building downtown and happened upon racks and racks of brand new Winchester Model 94 rifles, along with pallets of ammunition. Turns out the rifles and ammo had been placed there by the War Department during WWII. There was concern about the Nazis staging an invasion through Canada, and the thinking was that American citizens would be very familiar with the Model 94, so the government had stocked a number of police departments along the northern border with rifles and ammunition. My new friend told me when he retired from DPD in the early 90's the rifles and ammo were still there. Of course these would have been pre '64 Winchesters, and who knows what they would have been worth. I never heard another word about the fate of those fine rifles. Maybe they are still there, awaiting an invasion from the north.
 
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Here's a bit of DPD nostalgia from the early 70s.
"Stop the robberies, enjoy safe streets.

I would love to get my mits on one of those DPD marked Winchester 94s.
 

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Here's a bit of DPD nostalgia from the early 70s.
"Stop the robberies, enjoy safe streets.

I would love to get my mits on one of those DPD marked Winchester 94s.

Quite a bit of controversy over that unit. If I recall, Coleman Young campaigned for mayor saying the first thing he would do was disband STRESS, and in fact he did.
 
Ref DPD long guns: During the 70's, supervisors carried the 30-30 Winchesters in their vehicle trunks and the patrol units (Scout cars) had a gun box in the trunk with one .30 M1 carbine and one shotgun. Sunday day shift had to clean and inspect the guns in their trunks before heading out.
 
I believe that in addition to the issued Model 94's, they issued some type of Scoped Remington 700 to "sniper qualified" officers mostly with the Tactical Services Section (TSS). This was well before they started a SWAT team in the late 80's.

I think there are so many Model 10's in good shape out there because so few officers carried them. After a year many of us got something better. A lot of model 25's and a lot of 66's. The department didn't take your model 10 back when you got your own gun so they tended to just sit on closet shelves for the next 24 years or until they were turned in after transition to Glocks. I'm sure someone made a ton of money "acquiring" the department's history whether it was photographs, guns, call boxes, badges, etc.
 
DPD carried all sorts of sidearms as shown in thread. Here are some Colts that worked in "Motown":

New Police .32 (1902):

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Police positive .32 (1916):

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Another 1916 Police Positive after it was "demilled":

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I have a '25 vintage Army Special 5"bbl. .38 Spl. that I'll have to take a few pics of and post later.

Charles
 
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I have talked to a couple of guys that worked Firearms inventory at DPD the 94's were melted years ago along with a bunch of DPD marked shotguns Highstander's and Ithaca's.

If people only new what DPD still has in storage like full auto Thompson's, Uzi's fullsize and Micro Uzi's . The newest are M&P15's now that the m1 carbine's are gone.

I think the rarest DPD marked gun that Detroit sold off to Century Arms (change over to the glocks) has to be the real Winchester 97 trench guns. I have a 97 riot but Detroit had real trench guns surplus from the goverment. There were a couple of thousand and none seem to ever turn up.
 
DPD carried all sorts of sidearms as shown in thread. Here are some Colts that worked in "Motown":


I have a '25 vintage Army Special 5"bbl. .38 Spl. that I'll have to take a few pics of and post later.

Charles

I would love to see the Army special I picked up an DPD army special that was customized by a an officer at some point the barrel has been shortened and the grip rounded off like a Detective special. I assume it was done when he retired to make it a carry gun but not sure. Its butchered but still a neat gun
 
I wonder how many guns turned up in various police executives' and politicians' collections? I heard that a former chief had a bunch of call boxes in his basement. Of course, it was always easier just to take cash.....Back in the 80's they used to auction off 55 barrel drums of guns. You had to have an FFL and bid on them sight unseen: No ability to inspect what was inside. You might have one good gun in the bunch and 50 junk pieces.
 
Does anyone know if the Detroit PD was unique in issuing nickel handguns or were there other large departments that did that as well? I know that the NYPD prohibited nickel finishes at one point but I'm wondering about other departments.

the florida state troopers had nickel colt trooper III with 5 inch barrels for a while.
 
After missing out on one last year, finally scored a decent DPD Model 10.
Inventory number is 12540.
Tt must have been assigned to the desk sergeant.
Not bad for 50 years old:
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not bad? that's like saying eva mendes is not bad looking, that gun looks primo.
 

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