You see them on the chest of a dress uniform during a parade or a promotion ceremony—rows of colorful bars that look like a miniature patchwork quilt. To a civilian, they’re just pretty colors. To a cop in the 109th Precinct or a detective in the Child Abuse Squad, they are a literal map of a career. Honestly, most people think nypd awards and medals are just handed out for time served. That’s not how it works. Not even close.
Every one of those little bars represents a moment where a human being had to decide between their own safety and someone else’s life. Or maybe it represents ten years of grinding out "good gun collars" that never made the evening news. If you’ve ever wondered why one officer has a green bar and another has a blue one with a tiny star, you’re looking at a very specific hierarchy of heroism and "intelligent" police work.
The Big Three: Gallantry at the Top
The NYPD doesn't just hand out its highest honors because you had a "tough day." The top tier is reserved for stuff that most of us can’t even imagine doing.
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1. The Medal of Honor
This is the "Holy Grail." It’s the highest award an officer can get. Since 1871, it’s been given to those who performed acts of gallantry with full knowledge of the risk involved. We're talking "above and beyond the call of duty" territory. In 2024, the department bestowed this on Lieutenant Emmanuel Kwo, Sergeant Arvid Flores, and Police Officer Elwin Martinez. It's a gold medal, but on the daily uniform, it's represented by a simple breast bar.
2. Police Combat Cross
This one is very specific. You don’t get a Combat Cross for a car chase. You get it for "extraordinary heroism" while in personal combat with an armed adversary. It's a solid green bar. If you see an officer wearing this, they’ve been in a life-or-death shootout or a physical struggle with someone who was trying to kill them with a weapon. It’s the department’s second-highest honor.
3. Medal for Valor
Ranked third, the Medal for Valor is a solid blue bar. It’s for acts of personal bravery where the officer basically disregarded their own safety to save others. Sergeant Anita Moore received this in June 2025 for an incident dating back to her time in the 30th Precinct. It’s a huge deal, often involving "intelligent" performance under extreme hazard.
The Medals You’ll See Most Often
While the top three get the headlines, the bulk of nypd awards and medals are actually for "Meritorious" and "Excellent" duty. These are the workhorse awards.
- Meritorious Police Duty (MPD): This is where it gets technical. The MPD medal itself can have different colored stars in the middle. A silver star means "Honorable Mention"—the highest grade of MPD. A bronze star is for "Commendation," which usually means the officer faced grave personal danger.
- Excellent Police Duty (EPD): You’ll see this everywhere. It’s a green and white bar with gold vertical stripes. This is for an "intelligent act" that leads to a valuable accomplishment. Think of a detective who connects the dots on a complex burglary ring or a patrol officer who makes a high-value arrest through sheer persistence.
- Unit Citation: This is a blue bar that the whole precinct or squad gets to wear. If the 47th Precinct has a stellar year in crime reduction, everyone assigned there during that period might get the Unit Citation.
The Tragic Honors
There are medals no one wants to win. The Purple Shield is awarded to those seriously injured or killed in the line of duty. It’s the NYPD version of the Purple Heart.
Then there is the Distinguished Service Medal. This one is heavy. It was created in 2008 and is almost always awarded posthumously. It’s for members who died from illnesses linked to "unusual hazard." In recent years, this has most frequently been awarded to the families of the hundreds of officers who have died from 9/11-related cancers. At the 2025 Medal Day, dozens of these were handed out to families of those who worked the pile at Ground Zero.
How These Actually Get Awarded
It isn't just a boss saying, "Good job, here’s a medal." There’s a whole bureaucracy behind it.
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- The Nomination: Usually, a supervisor or a peer writes up the "specs" of the incident.
- The Board: A panel reviews the facts. They look for that word "intelligently." The NYPD hates reckless bravery. They want to see that you used your training and your brain while being a hero.
- The Commissioner: The Police Commissioner (currently Jessica Tisch) has the final sign-off.
- Medal Day: This is the big event. Historically held at 1 Police Plaza, it’s recently been moving around to places like the NYPD Training Bureau in College Point. It’s a day of very stiff uniforms and very proud families.
Beyond the Bravery: Proficiency Bars
Not everything on the chest is for a specific "act." Some of it is just for being good at your job.
- Firearms Proficiency: If an officer is a "Pistol Expert," they get a specific bar. It’s usually worn right above the shield.
- World Trade Center Bar: This is for any member who was in service during the 9/11 attacks or worked the recovery.
- American Flag Bar: Anyone can wear this. It goes at the very top.
Why Does It Matter?
Basically, these medals are the only way the department can "pay back" an officer for something that money can't cover. You can't give someone a bonus for jumping into the East River to save a drowning kid, but you can give them a Medal for Valor.
When you see an officer with a chest full of ribbons, it tells you they’ve been around. They’ve made the arrests, they’ve stayed late, and they’ve probably seen some things they’d rather forget. It’s a resume you wear on your shirt.
If you're looking to understand the history of a specific officer or command, checking the Medal Day books is your best bet. They are published annually and contain the full, often harrowing, stories of why each medal was earned. It’s a reminder that behind every colorful bar is a Tuesday afternoon that went very, very wrong, and a cop who stepped up to fix it.
Next Steps for Tracking NYPD Honors:
- Check the official NYPD Medal Day Book (available via NYC.gov) for the specific narratives of current year honorees.
- Look for the "Cop of the Month" awards at local Precinct Community Council meetings; these are often the "farm system" for the bigger departmental medals.
- If researching a specific officer, the NYPD Shield Number and name can often be cross-referenced with public commendation records.