Attleboro teen collects hundreds of first responder patches

ATTLEBORO, Mass. (WPRI) — Jeremiah Cooper has amassed quite the collection of patches over the years.

The 16-year-old Attleboro High School junior has hundreds of first responder patches from across the globe — 708 to be exact.

Those patches line the walls of Cooper’s bedroom.

“I started putting them on cork boards, but I ran out of space on my cork boards,” he explained. “I didn’t think it was going to get this big, to be honest with you, but I just kept going and am still going.”

For Cooper, it’s more than just a hobby.

“I just thought, ‘This is really cool. I want to keep doing this,'” Cooper said.

The first patch Cooper ever received came from his dad, who gave him one from the New Orleans Police Department.

“I didn’t get another for awhile, until my dad brought me another one from New York,” he recalled.

It wasn’t until after he received his second patch that he decided to reach out to his hometown departments.

“I contacted the fire chief in Attleboro and he sent me one right away,” Cooper recalled.

Though Cooper has collected dozens of patches from across Massachusetts, he also has several from other states, including Utah, Texas, Arizona, North Carolina and Ohio. He even has two patches from Halifax, Nova Scotia.

“Whenever we go by a police department or a fire department, we have to stop,” Cooper said. “We just go in and ask and they’re usually pretty nice about it.”

“It’s a hard job,” he continued. “It can get hard for them at times, and sometimes I walk into departments asking for patches and they say, ‘Thank you, we need your support.'”

Cooper enjoys how each patch is different and unique. He specifically pointed out the Coventry Police Department’s new Halloween patch, which features a pumpkin in the middle surrounded by ghosts.

He also appreciates the patches with significant meaning, like the ones designed to support autism and breast cancer awareness.

To Cooper, it’s more than just supporting men and women in uniform. He hopes to one day become a police officer himself.

His goal is to collect 2,000 patches before he pursues his career in law enforcement.

“We’ll see how far we get,” he said with a laugh.

Cooper is also an photographer who runs his own business called 848photography . He even sells his own patches for $7 each.

Anyone interested in reaching out to Cooper to schedule a photography session or assist with his patch collection can email him at jeremiahcooper@icloud.com .

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