An officer can remember a fallen officer by wearing a mourning band.
When a police officer, sheriff's deputy or firefighter dies, that person's memory is usually honored by his department with a badge mourning band. This black band should be worn by everyone in the department on their badges to symbolize the loss and remember the deceased. Those wearing a badge mourning band should follow protocol outlined by their department, as well as following these general etiquette guidelines.
When to Wear
A mourning band should be placed on an officer's badge after someone relating to the department has passed. You should put the band over your badge when a person from your department was killed in the line of duty or died through other circumstances outside of the job. Many departments will also choose to wear the band if a person from a neighboring jurisdiction was killed in the line of duty. You should always wear the band at the funeral of another officer, even if that person was retired.
How Long to Wear
The amount of time an officer wears the mourning badge is related to the circumstances of the person's death. If an officer from your department was killed in the line of duty, it's proper to wear the band for 30 days from the day of death. For any death of an active officer from your department, or for a neighboring department's officer killed in the line of duty, wear the badge from the day of the death until the completion of the funeral. Mourning bands should be worn only during the funeral of retired officers.
Wear
The badge mourning band should always be black and should not exceed half an inch in width. It should fit snugly around the officer's badge without covering the badge number. Most badges -- including round, square and oval-shaped ones -- should fit the mourning band horizontally across the middle of the badge. Star-shaped badges should have the mourning band placed diagonally across the middle of the shield, moving from a high right point down to a bottom left point.
Other Occasions
Along with the death of a fellow officer, mourning badges should be worn to commemorate other remembrances. All officers should wear their badge mourning band on May 15, the National Peace Officers Memorial Day. Also, you should wear your band during any day that the department is honoring the memory of another officer, such as during plaque dedication ceremonies. Finally, officers should always display their mourning badge when their commanding officer directs them to.
