Airman Takes On Antique Police Cars - The Law Wins

An active duty airman is in custody after damaging two antique police cars outside the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department headquarters in Savannah early Saturday, police said.

Police officers working at the headquarters after 3 a.m. heard what sounded like breaking glass and looked out to see a man later identified as Isaiah Jacobson kicking the lovingly restored cars.

Officers charged 27-year-old Isaiah Jacobson, of Vail, Ariz., with interference of government property and criminal trespass. Officers said Jacobson was highly intoxicated, fell out of his chair after he was detained, and had to be treated for minor injury.

Turns out he was in town for training before his "night out."

Local officials not amused and antique car lovers everywhere are cringing and crying for blood.

Silver "Buzzers" Come Home, Press Badges Stir Memories

I was young and dumb and ready for action, thought I'd seen a thing or two. My editor all those years ago sent me down to the Hall of Justice in San Francisco and told me to look up someone named "Scoop" and "The Baron."

It was a madhouse, with all the "personalities" that come with an urban city - and magnified by ten because it was San Francisco. A Disneyland for adults. There was a card game in progress when I made it to the third floor press room - a gorgeous blond, some TV people, cops. They said they were playing for candy bars.

"Siddown, kid, more the merrier."

One of the players was a Superior Court Judge. Everyone, it turned out, was armed. I began to lose.

"You're going to go far down here," the Examiner man - Malcolm "Scoop" Glover, said approvingly. He brightened when a good looking guy in a dapper suit walked in, the press room ringing with "Hey, Baron!"

Baron Muller was a legend around the city and the Hall of Justice. He'd covered everything that moved in town for years and had a string of exclusives on his belt. I tried not to look too impressed. They got around to asking for my press card, a laminated piece of junk with a sorry looking photo and some words that were supposed to get me past police lines when things were exploding.

"What's the matter with you guys?" The Baron asked the cops in attendance while looking at my press card with a look a new dad reserves for a recently soiled diaper. "You used to have a little class." And with that he threw down his police reporter's "star" the one with his number "9" in hard-fired enamel, in a leather holder and gleaming.

It sounded cool. I looked at it with envy.

"Yeah," Scoop said, throwing his lapel shield on the table. "Those were the days."

I started to drool.

I put in a few years with the paper and left, never getting anything nicer to wear than a lanyard and that crappy laminated card. A few months ago The Baron's badge and buzzer turned up on the antiques market, he's not with us any longer, and I pounced.

Had to have it. And proud to have known the man and shared time with them all.

They had class.

Circuitous Route For Antique San Francisco Fire Badges

If you've been in this game for awhile you come to realize that the things we pursue sometimes take circuitous routes before they find their way home to us.

Here's a recent example. If you know us you know we have a special thing for California police and fire badges. We've found them in a variety of unique and interesting places, but recently had the lesson driven home again when we took a call from a gent in Pittsburgh, PA.

It seems he'd inherited a couple of old San Francisco Fire Department buzzers, one a retirement badge and the other a San Francisco Fire Association badge, presented in 1925. Gold with ruby and diamond embellishments and lovely from the look of them.

We chatted and arranged to have them shipped back to the San Francisco Bay Area for inspection and purchase. The badges belonged to Capt. William J. Kenealey, a rootin-tootin' firefighting man who went five rounds with Jim Corbett and pulled off more than one rescue in his long and storied career.

We were able to determine this because along with the badges came a rather large box filled with correspondence, clippings and other items - including his log book. Great reading, and finally home again.

Nice to have you back in the San Francisco Bay Area, Capt. Kenealey. Welcome home.