LAPD bans Thin Blue Line flag following complaint it represents ‘racist and bigoted views’

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The Los Angeles Police Department this week banned the Thin Blue Line flag from public areas of police departments following a complaint that the flag represented “violent and extremist views.”

LAPD Chief Michel Moore defended the controversial decision in an email sent to Fox News Digital, saying, “Yesterday we received a community complaint about the presence of a blue line flag” with “the view that he symbolized support for violent extremist views, such as those represented by the Proud Boys and others.”

“I have requested that the item be removed from the public lobby. The American flag should be proudly displayed in our lobbies whenever possible. Memorials for our dead are also permitted in all public areas,” he said. he declares.

Moore explained that a flag displayed in a station lobby prompted a complaint and he added: ‘It is regrettable that extremist groups have misused the use of the Thin Blue Line flag to symbolize their anti-democratic, racist and sectarian.”

The LAPD chief ordered that all flags bearing the symbol be removed from public areas. Moore said officers can still display the flag “in their workspace, locker door, or personal vehicle.”

Thin Blue Line flag before being masked (Los Angeles Police Protective Union)

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While Moore said he saw the flag as symbolic of “the honor, bravery, dedication and sacrifice of law enforcement to protect our communities”, he said others had undermined the flag with their “racist, sectarian and oppressive values”.

Moore said station lobbies should be places where citizens feel welcome and safe and “free from political ideology”.

However, a union representing police officers in the county hit back at the news, calling it “political closeness”.

“It is difficult to express the level of disgust and disappointment at Chief Moores’ political directive to remove the Thin Blue Line flags and memorials for deceased officers from all public areas of our police stations. This directive came in the wake of complaints from anti-cops, crime apologists and activists who have too much of a hold on our city’s leaders and, sadly, our leader,” the board wrote. administration of the Los Angeles Police Protective League in a statement.

Image of the masked Thin Blue Line flag in the lobby of the LAPS Valley Traffic Division. (Photo by Los Angeles Police Protective Union)

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The union said it “vehemently” opposes “this disrespectful and defeatist bowing by the leadership of our department to groups that praise the killing of police officers and outright call for violence against those among us in uniform. We expressed our outrage directly to the chief.”

The group, which says it represents more than 9,900 LAPD members, disagreed with the leader’s sentiment that the flag was divisive. They argued that the flag was actually a “symbol of unity”.

“Let’s all remember what the Thin Blue Line Flag is and what it stands for: The Thin Blue Line Flag features a black and white image of the American flag with the horizontal stripe below the field of white stars on a black background The stars represent the citizens who stand for justice and order. The darkness represents chaos and anarchy, and for many, a memorial to law enforcement officers who perished in the line of duty. functions,” the statement read.

Photo showing the “Thin Blue Line” flag ordered removed from the classroom at Marysville Middle School in Washington (Jason Rantz)

Nationwide, in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, a similar action was taken by the Springfield Township Council, which voted 5-2 to bar the Thin Blue Line to township employees or property.

The black and white flag with a thin blue line can be seen on the Police Benevolent Association logo. The decision to ban the symbol came after nearly two years of controversy and debate over the issue.

The council said the issue arose in the spring of 2021 when a flag with the pro-police symbol upset some residents.

Commissioner Eddie Graham argued that the flag was comparable to the Confederate flag for African Americans.

“When you wave that flag, it’s like African Americans waving a Confederate flag,” he said.

Ultimately, council members voted to ban the symbol, arguing it was divisive.

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However, some members of the community blasted the news.

John English said when his family displayed a blue heart with the Thin Blue Line in their window after an officer was killed, his family was targeted.

“My family are considered white supremacists. And to use that term so loosely in this society is disgusting. It’s despicable. They’re the vilest people on earth and that’s what you compare people to” , he told the board, according to a report by the Delaware Valley Journal.

Township police denounced the move, saying council did not understand what the symbol meant to them. “Unless you’ve put yourself in a police officer’s shoes, you really don’t know what we’re doing,” one officer said.

The police reacted to the news, the thin blue line symbol was banned. (Stock)

“No one goes to work wanting to kill anybody,” he said before describing the chaos of Black Lives Matter protests in 2020’s Sumer where he said he got kicked out” stones and bottles”.

“You affirm every time you see the Thin Blue Line flag that that person is racist. That doesn’t make them racist,” he said, according to the outlet.

A board member said his vote was “in no way” meant to disrespect police officers, but hoped the ban would “eliminate the stigma” of those who oppose Black Lives Matter.

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Springfield Township Superintendent Michael Taylor explained to Fox News Digital, “The resolution that was passed by the Springfield Township Board of Commissioners prohibits the display of what is effectively the ‘Blue Lives Matter Flag.’ on the uniforms of township employees or such symbol being affixed or installed on township property. The resolution does not prohibit the use of the flag or symbol by the Police Benevolent Association (“PBA”).”

He added that the black and white American flag with a thin blue line was relatively new and “although intended to support police departments everywhere, it has been co-opted by extremist groups and used to counter the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement.

The township “asked the PBA to consider using the original Thin Blue Line flag instead. The PBA declined. The resolution is simply the township’s attempt to disassociate itself from a symbol that many of our residents find The township remains firmly in support of its Police Department and all citizens of Springfield Township,” Taylor said.

The Police Benevolent Association told Fox News Digital that it was not commenting at this time.

Fox News’ Matt Finn and Louis Casiano contributed to this report.

Kristine Parks is associate editor of Fox News Digital. Read more.

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