Perry Police Department wearing pink badges during Breast Cancer Awareness month

According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer, which means thousands of women will battle the potentially deadly disease.

PERRY, Georgia(41NBC/WMGT) — According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer, which means thousands of women will battle the potentially deadly disease.

The Perry Police Department is showing its support to those fighting the disease by wearing pink badges.

Captain Heath Dykes says he takes pride in zipping up his vest and wearing his police badge every day, but wearing the pink badge represents more than just a job.

“I lost my grandmother in 2012 to breast cancer,” he said. “It’s affected my family first hand.”

Captain Dykes wears his pink badge each October in memory of his grandmother.

“We’ve all been affected some form or fashion,” he said. “It can be family or friends that are fighting this battle, and this is just one little way of showing our respect and remembrance for those,” Interim Police Chief Alan Everidge said.

Chief Everidge says officers began wearing the badges in 2018 to support people fighting breast cancer.

Over the years, Chief Everidge says he’s lost friends to the deadly disease, so he wants the community to know he cares and understands their struggles.

“Cancer can strike anyone at any time,” he said. “And so we are here for you, and we believe that this is a small token to say we are here with you.”

Captain Dykes says breast cancer not only impacts families emotionally but also financially.

He welcomes the community to talk about the pink badges and their meaning.

“Take a moment and count your blessings and hope that we can come up with a cure one day and hopefully put an end to this,” he said.

The Perry Police Department says it will continue to wear pink badges for years to come.