Maj. Paul Webber retires from Rome police
When I started, officers could almost wear whatever they wanted, within reason, because nothing was issued by the department.”
Maj. Paul Webber, RPD (retired)
When Maj. Paul Webber joined the Rome Police Department in 1976, things were quite a bit different. For example, officers weren’t issued items such as uniforms, radios, flashlights, shoes or even outerwear for the rain.
“Heck, prior to Chief Collins, recruits were issued a gun, badge, belt and a shirt and then you went on patrol for two weeks of training,” Maj. Webber said. “Yes, things are a lot different now, and definitely for the better.”
Webber, who joined the Rome Police Department June 19, 1976, and retired Friday after 46 years of service, was honored with a small ceremony at which he was presented with his retirement shield and service weapon.
Webber was born in Dayton, Ohio, but raised in
Columbus when his family moved there for his father’s medical practice when he was three. He arrived in
Rome in 1972, attending Berry College for a time, before finding his way to the Rome Police Department.
According to Webber, back then if you wanted to carry a shotgun on patrol, you had to request one, and check it back in at the end of your shift. The department would purchase a handful of vehicles every 10 years, and the squad cars didn’t have cages in the back to protect officers.
Webber credits Rome’s Vernon Grizzard with donating the first batch of body armor to the force in the early ’80s.
Webber recalls his first chief of police, John Collins.
“Chief Collins came from the GBI and was a former state patrol officer. He really started to standardize a lot of our equipment, including uniforms,” Webber said. “When I started, officers could almost wear whatever they wanted, within reason, because nothing was issued by the department.”