As with our BROTHERS and SISTERS from the National Lodge in the early years, ONE Officer's idea, along with 22 other BRAVE METRO POLICE OFFICERS came together for a better working environment. With this small handful of dedicated officers, and the help from our BROTHERS and SISTERS of Lodge #39 (Harris County) and Lodge #109 (Houston PD), Our Lodge accelerated to over 100 Officers within the first 45 days.
HOUSTON METRO FOP LODGE#98, FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE was chartered by the Grand Lodge and the Texas State Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police on January 6th, 2008. The HOUSTON METRO FOP LODGE#98, Fraternal Order of Police, is an organization composed of certified professional law enforcement personnel who have joined together for their common good and for the betterment of the community that they serve.
The FOP Texas State Lodge was established on September 25, 1985, after three local lodges had been formed in the West Texas area. Today, FOP lodges exist from the high plains of the Texas Panhandle to the shores of the Gulf Coast - from the mountains of far West Texas to the piney woods of East Texas. Officers from federal, state, county, and municipal agencies are represented and, as we say in Texas, are "Proud to be FOP!"
The Fraternal Order of Police Texas State Lodge has been serving the law enforcement profession in Texas for over 16 years. Texas FOP Lodges cover the great State of Texas from one end to the other. Our goal is to help Texas officers individually as well as in whole. We do this by striving to improve wages, benefits and working conditions. We also are involved in law enforcement and public safety legislation on the state and national level.
Our motto is:
"Jus Fidus Libertatum"
which translates to:
"Law is the Safeguard of Freedom"
| History of the National Fraternal Order of Police |
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In 1915, the life of a policeman was bleak. In many communities they were forced to work 12 hour days, 365 days a year. Police officers didn't like it, but there was little they could do to change their working conditions. There were no organizations to make their voices heard; no other means to make their grievances known. This soon changed, thanks to the courage and wisdom of two Pittsburgh patrol officers. Martin Toole and Delbert Nagle knew they must first organize police officers, like other labor interests, if they were to be successful in making life better for themselves and their fellow police officers. They and 21 others "who were willing to take a chance" met on May 14, 1915, and held the first meeting of the Fraternal Order of Police.
They formed Fort Pitt Lodge #1. They decided on this name due to the anti-union sentiment of the time. However, there was no mistaking their intentions. As they told their city mayor, Joe Armstrong, the FOP would be the means "to bring our aggrievances before the Mayor or Council and have many things adjusted that we are unable to present in any other way...we could get many things through our legislature that our Council will not, or cannot give us." And so it began, a tradition of police officers representing police officers.
The Fraternal Order of Police was given life by two dedicated police officers determined to better their profession and those who choose to protect and serve our communities, our states, and our country. It was not long afterward that Mayor Armstrong was congratulating the Fraternal Order of Police for their "strong influence in the legislatures in various states,...their considerate and charitable efforts" on behalf of the officers in need and for the FOP's "efforts at increasing the public confidence toward the police to the benefit of the peace, as well as the public." From that small beginning the Fraternal Order of Police began growing steadily.
In 1917, the idea of a National Organization of Police Officers came about. Today, the tradition that was first envisioned over 90 years ago lives on with more than 2,100 local lodges and more than 325,000 members in the United States. The Fraternal Order of Police has become the largest professional police organization in the country. The FOP continues to grow because we have been true to the tradition and continued to build on it. The Fraternal Order of Police are proud professionals working on behalf of law enforcement officers from all ranks and levels of government.
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Page Last Updated: Apr 15, 2016 (15:06:21)
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