The hat squad

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The hat squad

Photos of Atlanta homicide detectives known as the hat squad because they wear fedoras and present each other with a hat upon solving their first case.

The first time an Atlanta police homicide detective solves a case, he's rewarded with a fedora and welcomed into the 'hat squad.' Here, Det. Anthony Gentile and Det. Nicole Redlinger speak with a witness on the scene of a murder near downtown Atlanta.

Experienced officers chip in to buy an officer's first fedora, which is presented at an unexpected moment. Wearing a black fedora, Det. Kevin Otts and Lt. Keith Meadows, who oversees the entire hat squad, arrive on the scene of a murder.

Retired Atlanta police Lt. Danny Agan, left, talks with his son Det. Danny Agan Jr. on a recent visit back to City Hall East. Agan Sr. brought the idea of wearing hats back to the squad when he joined the unit in 1979. When he left, his partner Sgt. Charles Horton kept it alive. Agan Sr. also bought his son his first fedora.

In this October 1994 photo, Agan, left, and GBI agent Joe Jackson talk on the railroad tracks in southeast Atlanta near where the nude body of an alleged prostitute was found. Agan says the hats help the officers. "You dress the part, you dress like a detective, you get better results," he said. "It commands respect: Who's showing up to take charge of this mess?"

The hat squad are big shoppers. Some own six, 12, 18 hats. Straw for summer, fur felt for winter. Here, Det. Anthony Gentile sports his summer straw hat as takes notes at the scene of a murder.

Two fedoras, one black and the other gray, hang in Gentile's cubicle.

Gentile's black fedora features decorative feather and pin.

Atlanta homicide Det. David Coleman's black fedora lays on the front of his dashboard as he drives to investigate a scene.

Coleman speaks with a witness while investigating a murder.

A summer straw fedora hangs next to a photograph of the three stooges in Det. Danny Stephans' cubicle. The officers say jokes are necessary in a job that is so surrounded by sorrow. But some things are not funny at all, they say, one of which is a baby death.

Members of the hat squad in the early 1990s.

From left, Det. Danny Stephans and Det. Nicole Redlinger ride in a full elevator in City Hall East down to their cars to go to lunch together with their shift. Female detectives don't usually wear their fedoras, but they keep them around.

When the hat squad goes to lunch, they lay their fedoras on a nearby table while they eat.

Coleman adjusts his hat before leaving the office. Coleman said the hats are a symbol of achievement. "We are serious about that," he said. "To me there is no perfect crime."

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The first time an Atlanta police homicide detective solves a case, he's rewarded with a fedora and welcomed into the 'hat squad.' Here, Det. Anthony Gentile and Det. Nicole Redlinger speak with a witness on the scene of a murder near downtown Atlanta.

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