Law enforcement has long had a controversial reputation among the public, and a keepsake found by a woman in Utah does little to improve its image. PhilosopherHermit, the husband of the woman, posted the intriguing item to r/whatisit, claiming his wife had found the “weird police token” in a parking lot where police officers often park. What was engraved on the token quickly sparked debate and concern among tens of thousands of Reddit users.
On one side, the coin had a skull with a statement that implied killing people to meet those to be judged by God. The opposite side was the generic “To Protect and Serve” quote for police officers. According to a highly upvoted commenter, the token is a challenge coin, this one counting as a promotional one to be given or rewarded to someone.
Redditors Agree That the Challenge Coin Isn’t Affiliated with an Actual Police Department
Since the coin doesn’t have the name of an actual police department, Redditors claim it’s of very low rank, since its generic insignia isn’t tied to anything. As to why St. Michael is mentioned on the coin, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s connected to the Catholic church. St. Michael is simply known as “the patron saint for police officers” or anyone serving as a user points out.
“Would have been cool when I was in the military. For police. Thats wild,” remarked a commenter. Another chimed in, sarcastically saying how they “love the juxtaposition of the death threats and the phrase protect and serve.” They continued, calling “the whole thing is cringe. Police unions are death cults.”
“No policing (even mall cop policing) is supposed to have an emphasis on killing, surely?” questioned a third. “I’m so glad the Police here in Australia aren’t like that, you guys really are in trouble,” exclaimed a fourth.
Fortunately, the general consensus of the comment section believes that this challenge coin isn’t affiliated with any organization; it’s more of a “law enforcement wannabe” token likely for personal use. In other words, it’s not an official police coin that has an “emphasis on killing.”
Still, the harrowing stories shared online and by word of mouth of police brutality or abuse of authority have done much to hurt law enforcement’s image. So, seeing such an alarming keepsake only further shames the reputation of cops, even though there are plenty of good ones out there helping and protecting people.
