ELVIS PRESLEY'S PERSONALLY OWNED NEW YORK POLICE BADGE FOR HONORARY SUPERINTENDENT

Elvis Owned Police Badge

Engraved with E.A.P. "Presented to Elvis Presley from William Kirwan June 1972" at Madison Square Garden New York

Elvis Owned Police Badge 

Accompanied by an Elvis Presley Museum certificate of authenticity hand signed by Jimmy Velvet who was Elvis' friend of twenty two years and the Founder and original President and CEO of the world famous Elvis Presley Museum all those years ago.

ELVIS PRESLEY MUSEUM
CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY

THIS IS TO CERTIFY that in my opinion, the following item was the personal property of ELVIS PRESLEY.
The Elvis Presley Museum opened on June 1, 1978 and is the only museum in the world licensed by
Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. and “Graceland” - the estate of Elvis Presley.

NEW YORK POLICE BADGE FOR HONORARY SUPERINTENDENT

This Honorary Superintendent badge was given to Elvis by the Superintendent of the New York State Police, William Kirwan, at Madison Square Garden in New York City in 1972. The top of the badge is engraved E.A.P.  William Kirwan personalized the back to Elvis by having it engraved as follows: "PRESENTED TO ELVIS PRESLEY FROM WILLIAM KIRWAN JUNE 1972." The badge was part of Mark Pyne's collection, a noted police badge collector from New England.

(Hand signed in ink) Jimmy Velvet, Founder and CEO

William Edward Kirwan Jr.

Aug. 5, 1967 - June 25, 1975

Gov. Rockefeller appointed William E. Kirwan Jr. to be the seventh superintendent. Born Nov. 7, 1912 in New York City, Supt. Kirwan graduated with a B.S. from Fordham University in 1933. He joined the NYSP as a trooper on June 15, 1936 and served in Troop K until he was assigned to the State Police Scientific Laboratory in 1937, beginning a 25-year association with that institution. During that time he wrote and co-authored many articles on the subject of scientific police service, several of which were subsequently reprinted for foreign-language publications around the world.
After appointments as lab assistant director and director (1941), he served as acting chief inspector until Supt. Cornelius appointed him to be the division's original first deputy superintendent in 1961.
During his tenure, the Division of State Police continued its trend to progressive change and development. The State Police Training Academy, located adjacent to Division Headquarters in Albany, was dedicated in 1970. The first women entered state police service in 1973. That same year also witnessed the establishment of the first NYSP minority recruiting detail, a measure designed to ensure the agency reflected the growing diversity of the public it served.
The program of replacing old buildings with new, purpose-built, facilities continued, including construction of new headquarters for Troops F, D, A and K. Finally, State Police Aviation was reborn Sept. 1, 1967, when the Thruway Authority purchased a fixed-wing Cessna Sky Hawk aircraft for use by the state police in traffic enforcement. The following year, the agency acquired its first helicopter, a Bell 47 G4A bubble type, followed by three Bell 206A Jet Ranger helicopters in 1969.
Supt. Kirwan and his wife, Josephine, made their home in Cohoes (Albany County), NY. During his 39-year NYSP career, he was known in the field of law enforcement, and he kept the state police in the forefront of police excellence. He retired to enter private life on June 25, 1975, and passed away on Nov. 24, 1986