It has become a symbol of the city's grief: three interlocking Pittsburgh police badges emblazoned on a black T-shirt.

Above the badges, a banner says, "Stood Together." Below, a second banner says, "Fell Together." The shirt lists the date of April 4, 2009, when officers Paul J. Sciullo II, Stephen J. Mayhle and Eric G. Kelly were shot and killed responding to a 911 call in Stanton Heights.

Now, the public can buy copies of the shirt on a new Web site: www.PittsburghFallenHeroes.com. About 75 percent of the earnings will go to help the families of the deceased officers.

The cost is $20 for sizes small to extra large, $22 for XXL and $24 for XXXL. Shipping expenses are not included.

According to Pittsburgh police, 12,000 shirts already have been printed and distributed, with law enforcement agencies from across the United States serving as the biggest recipients.

Custom Printed Graphics, a business on the South Side, plans to produce another 20,000 shirts over the next several weeks. A batch of 5,000 also will be on sale outside tonight's Penguins game at Mellon Arena.

So far, the fallen heroes fund -- organized by the Pittsburgh Fraternal Order of Police -- has raised close to $300,000, according to Detective Charles Hanlon, FOP vice president.

That amount doesn't include cash donations from the Penguins home finale last week or the Pirates home opener this week. Nor does it include the first round of T-shirt sales.

Most of the money has come from people sending donations or from spontaneous collections by individuals and businesses.

"It's just been overwhelming," Officer Dan O'Hara, FOP president, said at a news conference at police headquarters yesterday.

Detective Patrick Moffat of the city's homicide squad created the T-shirt design, which also pays homage to the "Fightin' 5th," the nickname for the Zone 5 police station where all three officers worked.

Detective Steven Hitchings, also of the homicide squad, took the design to Larry Ennis, owner of Custom Printed Graphics. Mr. Ennis agreed to start printing the shirts immediately, at a reduced cost. His company pushed back an order from the Steelers to accommodate the police.

Within a few days, Detective Moffatt was receiving requests for shirts from every corner of the country, including a call from the police chief of Littleton, Colo., site of the 1999 Columbine High School killings.

Police yesterday warned the public to beware of counterfeit versions of the fallen heroes T-shirt. A police officer or representative of the Police Bureau will be present whenever the shirts are sold.

Still, members of the public shouldn't approach individual officers with donations for the fallen heroes fund, said Diane Richard, a spokeswoman for the bureau.

The public can contribute money directly to the officers' families through the Pittsburgh Fallen Heroes Fund, Greater Pittsburgh Police Federal Credit Union, 1338 Chartiers Ave., Pittsburgh 15220.

More information is available on the FOP Web site: www.pittsburghpolicefop.com.