In the New York Police Department, as well as other law enforcement offices around the country, badge numbers carry a lot of weight. For one, publicly accessible badge numbers provide crucial transparency when it comes to holding police officers accountable. The small metal totems also have emotional significance. In New York City, cops are assigned badge numbers at the beginning of their careers and retain them until they retire or get promoted.
It makes sense that “Blue Bloods” would eventually address the meaning behind the shields. In the Season 6 episode “Cursed,” Officer Jill Carpenter (America Olivo) asks if she can wear the badge number of her late father, who died in the line of duty as a police officer in Boston. For Commissioner Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck), the number — 46808 — strikes a nerve, as it was worn by his son Joe, who died before the events of “Blue Bloods.” The decision weighs on Frank, who wishes to remember his late son’s memory. And since Carpenter’s father served in Boston, he is under no obligation to reinstate the number in New York. Also, he thinks the number might be cursed.
The episode wastes no time in establishing Frank’s superstitious nature. After all, he has been carrying around an old silver dollar coin for decades. But a little research reveals that all 38 NYPD cops who wore the number 46808 (as well as 468 and 46) met a variety of unkind fates reading like a cursed laundry list: “Failed liver transplant. Racketeering conviction. Suicide.” In true “Blue Bloods” fashion, the entire Reagan family weighs in on the decision.
The Reagans take the cursed number to a vote
The family dinner scene in “Cursed” is among the most bittersweet in “Blue Bloods” history, and one that takes each member of the Reagan clan’s opinion into account. “It’s customary when a number is retired for the family to rule on any request to return that number to active duty,” Pop (Len Cariou) explains at dinner.
The family even asks Jamie (Will Estes) why he didn’t adopt the number himself. Jamie admits that he too was a little suspicious, and he chose to instead honor his brother’s memory by being the best cop he could be. The discussion finally boils down to one question: What would Joe do? With that, the family makes the unanimous decision to pass along the number to Officer Carpenter.
Soon after, Frank gets some news that stops him in his tracks. Carpenter is shot in the line of duty, confirming his belief that 46808 is cursed. When he visits her in the hospital, he is relieved to learn that she was still wearing her old badge when the incident occurred. Carpenter vows to not only honor her father but also Joe with the new number. Luckily, that is the last we hear of badge number 46808, meaning the curse has hopefully been broken.