New Haven Independent

Redding, a 20-year veteran of the New Haven force, and Badger, a 22-year veteran, have been working together for years. Redding was recently head of the Family Services Division. Mayor John DeStefano thanked both for the service they’d done . He recalled the days they’d worked with him on nitty-gritty neighborhood issues as district managers. “I can’t think of a better group of people to stand with,” he said.

Badger, who was most recently head of detectives, pledged to “continue to do community-based policing” and to follow the mayor’s example to “come up with creative ideas.” He thanked his family, who’d come all the way from Cape Cod. And he gave a shout out to a group of men lined up against a bannister in the back of the crowd wearing matching T shirts reading: “Oriental Lodge.” The men were from the Prince Hall Masons, a service group Badger belongs to on Goffe Street. “He’s always been there for us,” said the group’s president, Phil Davis. “He’s a brother.”

Redding, an Independent “cop of the week”and esteemed crisis negotiator, came flanked by her family, where law enforcement has become a proud tradition. Her husband, Lt. Pat Redding, pinned a badge on her. Her father, West Haven Police Chief William Johnson watched with a smile. “We’re very proud, very happy,” he said.

Redding thanked her role models, “especially all the women who helped pave the way” when women were “the 1 percent.” “We’re a strong 19 percent now,” she said. As a cheerleading coach at Sacred Heart Academy, Redding is a role model herself to teenage girls. She sent out a special thanks to her teen fans in the crowd: “You guys are the epitome of a team.”