Party City or Spirit Halloween: The origin story of Herschel Walker's police badge
KATHRYN CHAVEZ: Congratulations to the millions of people around the world who discovered that they are airline pilots this week after holding on to that wing pin pilots used to give to children. The new pilots have Georgia senate candidate Hershel Walker to thank for revealing that honorary badges can be used professionally, when he held a fake police badge up at a recent Senate debate against Democratic opponent Sen. Raphael Warnock.
Stretching the truth is not uncommon in the world of politics, but Walker, the 1982 University of Georgia Heisman trophy winner and most recently a Texas resident, has been a rollercoaster of facts and fiction since he joined the Senate race in Georgia. Despite playing football for UGA, Walker never graduated, despite his claims. It was more alarming when Walker claimed in 2017 that he had worked with police in Cobb County, GA and then separately mentioned that he was an FBI agent.
“I worked for law enforcement, y’all didn’t know that either?” Walker said in 2019. “I spent time at Quantico at the FBI training school. Y’all didn’t know I was an agent?”
Both the Cobb County Police Department and the FBI followed up and confirmed he has never held official roles at either department.
Nonetheless, Walker remained dedicated to his story that he served in law enforcement, leading to one of the most surreal moments at a Senate debate. After his Sen. Raphael Warnock differentiated himself from Walker by saying he “has never pretended to be a police officer,” Walker flashed a small star shaped badge in a black flip book.
“You know what's so funny, I am… I work with many police officers,” Walker said as he flashed his badge FBI style. The debate moderator promptly instructed Walker that props were not allowed and he would need to put the badge away. Doubling down during a NBC interview with Kristen Walker, he said that he has badges from all over the state of Georgia that allow him to work with the police “getting things done.”
While I think Walker belongs to only a small group of honorary badge holders that believe in its professional legitimacy, his antics are still harmful. We have seen many supporters of Walker and former President Donald Trump take up arms and attempt to take on the role of law enforcement at progressive demonstrations, with a deadly example being Kyle Rittenhouse self-policing in Wisconsin during a Black Lives Matter demonstration and shooting three black men. This troubling behavior becomes even more dangerous if those people think that an honorary or fake badge enables them the same policing abilities as trained law enforcement.
Sadly, the only legitimate aspect of Walker's story is that his police badge came from an actual police precinct. While claiming to have badges from all over the state, he stood with Johnson County Sheriff Greg Rowland, who verified that the badge is the “same” one he uses. The difference between the two men is that Sheriff Rowland has passed police training and testing, and was sworn into the role. Though, if you want to play police officer (in the safety of your own home) Party City and Spirit Halloween have plenty of options.
Like many political faux pa, Twitter was aflame with takes, jokes, and edits about the whole situation. The response may have gotten to Walker, because he skipped his second scheduled debate with Warnock. A second debate seems unlikely so enjoy the best reactions to a potential senator playing a fake cop for votes.
Florida Congresswoman Val Demings, who is running for Senate against Senator Marco Rubio, was a police officer for over 25 years. Posing with her police badge, she tweeted “This one’s real.” A subtle yet solid call-out of Walker’s phoniness
Star Trek star and democratic supporter, George Takei, poked fun at the silliness of pretending to have a career you don’t.
Paul Rudnick shared the same sentiment when he posted a picture of a child in a doctor's scrubs and white coat and introduced the “Newest Chief of Surgery.”
In the United States, turning 21 and using your ID for the first time is a right of passage. It is a sense of pride that your real ID actually does what you want it to do. This tweet embodies that innocent (though Walker is not) energy of being proud to show off your ID to the bartender.
New York Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Dan Rather had a similar theory that Walker got the badge from a costume shop. Rather made the astute observation that there may be a police uniform costume in the world sans badge.
Walker is not a police officer, never was a police officer, and I can almost guarantee he never will be a police officer. This is not the first lie Walker has told about his past while on the campaign trail, and it will not be the last. The results of the election are still to be determined, and the impact of his police officer service lie cannot yet be measured. But, I’m sure Walker's fellow FBI colleague, Dr. Spencer Reid, would share this wise advice.
"In life, unlike chess, the game continues after checkmate."
Kathryn Chavez is a Second Year Master of Public Policy student at the McCourt School. Originally from outside Dallas, Texas, she graduated from Southern Methodist University in 2021 with degrees in Business Management, Advertising and Fashion Media with a minor in Journalism.