Images(2)

Cap, Service

Object number2016.157.2

Retailer Kaufmann's Department Store (1871 - 2005)

OriginPittsburgh, PA

MediumNylon; Wicker or Rattan; Patent leather; Fabric; Leather; Metal; Brass(?); Plastic; Paper; Ink

Credit LineGift of Theresa K. Long

DescriptionPolice officer service cap or duty hat.DimensionsHeight x Width x Depth: 4.313 × 10.688 × 10.125 in. (11 × 27.1 × 25.7 cm)
InscriptionsOne brass(?) chinstrap button on each temple has raised text around perimeter "PITTSBURGH POLICE".
MarksInterior has oval sticker with printed black text "Kaufmann's / fifth avenue / Pittsburgh".
Historical NotesThis police hat was Joseph F. Gaetano's summer weight hat, bought at Kaufmann's. Joseph F. Gaetano was a Pittsburgh Police officer killed on the job in 1966. Gaetano was of Italian descent, the son of a mason, he grew up in Beechview. He joined the polic force in 1954, when he was around 25. The year before his death he was married to Jean, who he met in a club where she worked. By the time of Gaetano’s death he worked in the Public Safety building, taking fingerprints and booking new suspects, etc., as he had trained in fingerprint identification. On June 10, 1966, as he was escorting Edward Bittner from booking to a holding cell, Bittner grabbed Gaetano's gun when they were alone on the elevator and shot him fatally in the chest. Gaetano was killed and Bittner jumped through a window and escaped, only to be caught later that day in the Hill District. Joseph F. Gaetano was the donor Theresa K. Long's uncle.

Related person Joseph Francis Gaetano

Related person Edward E. Bittner

Related institution Pittsburgh Bureau of Police

Subjects