Fresno Police captain gives badge to son during swearing in ceremony

FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – The Fresno Police Department is growing once again, with a promotion and swearing-in ceremony. 

“That badge that’s getting pinned onto you today is not your badge; it belongs to the folks out here in the audience,” Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer said while speaking during the ceremony. 

Getting pinned is a great honor for all of the recruits, but for one recruit and his family, it meant a little more. 

Capt. Joe Alvarez and his son, Tyler, shared a special moment during Tuesday’s ceremony, when Alvarez, a 26-year veteran of the department, was able to hand his son a badge. 

“It’s not about following in my footsteps. It’s about him blazing his own path,” Capt. Alvarez said. 

He recalled the moment during his son’s senior year of high school when he realized his son had become captivated by joining the force. 

“I made the mistake of taking him on a ride-along. And after that, yeah, it was known,” Capt. Alvarez said. 

His son is still just as excited about the job now as he was back then.

“I felt a calling that the job still needs to be done. People still need to be helped,” Tyler said. 

And that calling, leading him to work alongside his father, symbolized their bond as father and son and as colleagues when Capt. Alvarez handed his son a badge. 

Tyler says having his dad hang him the badge made an already important moment carry even more weight. 

“I was just overfilled with joy, seeing the proud look on his face, on everyone’s face,” Tyler said. 

And this moment, while filled with joy over what his son’s accomplished, is still humbling for Capt. Alvarez. He knows firsthand what it’s like for an officer on the streets. He gave his son important advice as he started his new journey with the department. 

“We have a noble profession where people have sacrificed. And what I told him was that this badge is more than just a symbol of our authority, but it’s the trust of the community,” Capt. Alvarez said. “Always be honest. It’s okay to feel and have a support group that you can lean on.”