Redlands Police Add 'Peace Officer' Designation To Entire Fleet Of Patrol Vehicles

REDLANDS (CBSLA) — Law enforcement authorities have long been referred to as peace officers, but now one city near San Bernardino is making it official.

The Redlands Police Department is becoming the first department in the nation to add the designation "PEACE OFFICER" to its entire fleet.

Police vehicles for the city of approximately 70,000 residents about 60 miles east of Los Angeles now include the designation after the change was inspired by Police2Peace, a charity founded to assist law enforcement agencies and promote "better interactions between communities and law enforcement."

NFL great and ESPN host Eric Davis was on hand along with Redlands Mayor Paul Foster and Chief of Police Mark A. Garcia at the RPD Administration building at Old City Hall for the unveiling.

"We're excited about these vehicles being out in the community," said Police Chief Garcia. "We're looking forward to the impact simply using the word 'PEACE' has on both the community and our officers," he continued.

"This is a wonderful opportunity to gauge the power of words in our communities," said Lisa Broderick, Executive Director of Police2Peace. "As far as we know, this is the first time a community has retroactively added the words 'PEACE OFFICER' to their vehicles in this country," she added.

The program and all associated research was done with zero cost to taxpayers, according to officials.