A Vancouver city councillor who recently retired as a police officer is defending his choice to wear a thin blue line patch. We have directly expressed our outrage to the Chief. Next:3 things to consider before you raise a thin blue line flag. Fowler leads a camping trip for young offenders, but Grim plans a short sharp shock. [14] The phrase is also documented in a 1965 pamphlet by the Massachusetts government, referring to its state police force, and in even earlier police reports of the NYPD. By the early 1970s, the term had spread to police departments across the United States. POLITIFACT: MOSTLY TRUE THAT PRO-POLICE THIN BLUE LINE FLAG IS ANTI-BLACK LIVES MATTER. Patricia, unsatisfied and frustrated with Raymond, takes their matter to a sex therapist. Its vile. For police officers, accoutrements of their profession are the badge and the uniform, with the thin blue line emblems being a recent addition that can be shared by every citizen who treasures the thin line between peace and chaos. The Thin Blue Line is a study of truth. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. In Montclair, New Jersey, a police leader begged residents on a Zoom call not to view the flag as a symbol of racism.. Marcus Boyd, a leader of the group, which counts with more than 350 members on Facebook, said he associates the symbol with the blue wall of silence, an informal code of not reporting misconduct among law enforcement officers. When I see that flag as a sticker on a car or flying in someones yard, I know that there is someone there that knows what Im going through. Thin Blue Line. A Maryland police department has been banned from displaying a 'thin blue line' flag after it as dubbed 'divisive' of a community, some of which argues it was 'dismissive of the Black Lives Matter . In the first series the WANTED poster behind Fowlers desk in the briefing room is an E-FIT of Elton. On that list: the banning of any thin blue line flags from San Diego County Sheriffs Department uniforms and patrol vehicles. (Los Angeles Police Protective Union), MARYLAND COUNTY EXEC BANS POLICE STATION FROM DISPLAYING DIVISIVE THIN BLUE LINE FLAG, While Moore said he viewed the flag as symbolizing "the honor, valor, dedication, and sacrifice of law enforcement to protect our communities," he said others had undermined the flag with their "racist, bigoted and oppressive values. Stories of Facebook allowing beheading videos but removing breastfeeding images, and then reversing the decision to allow graphic violence after public uproar, has led many to question how Facebook should treat controversial content. The Thin Blue Line: Created by Ben Elton. She has also noticed the flag's image on police and other government-owned vehicles, and she sees this as evidence that even self-described liberal officials are not doing enough to combat white supremacy. Bishop Cornelius Bowser, co-founder of the Community Assistance Support Team, which aims to prevent violence in the streets of San Diego, shared a similar opinion. Some say the concept fails to recognize the communitys role in public safety and the importance of community-police relations. Nonprofit journalism about criminal justice, A nonprofit news organization covering the U.S. criminal justice system. A man participates in a Blue Lives Matter rally in Kenosha, Wis., on Aug. 30, 2020. a sign of support for law enforcement but has also come to signal opposition to the racial justice movement, waved by "extremists" at the "insurrection" at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, on-duty law enforcement officers were criticized. Legal Statement. Get our email alerts straight to your inbox. The thin blue line flag represents the ideals of justice and freedom, bravery and solidarity. While Fowler is preparing his team for the pub quiz, Grim has borrowed his star player, PC Habib. Request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, Ref No: FOI2020/06474. In the photo, the officer was wearing a, This page was last edited on 18 January 2023, at 13:29. It was ranked number 34 in a poll for Britain's Best Sitcom. The board said the issue arose in the Spring of 2021 when a flag with the pro-police symbol upset some residents. Magnum PI has been canceled by CBS, meaning the show's May 6 season finale will now be its series finale. It lasted for two series and a total of fourteen episodes, not long enough to outstay its welcome, and despite being low budget I remember finding it very funny when I first saw it at the time as a teenager. Posted in Climate science. Photo showing "Thin Blue Line" flag that was ordered to be removed from Marysville Middle School classroom in Washington Brian Montague . In the 1970s and 80s, the phrase was popularized in books and films, including the 1988 documentary, The Thin Blue Line, which tells the story of a mans trial and wrongful conviction in the killing of a police officer in Dallas. [19] Conway has also responded by trying to "reclaim the logo" by selling t-shirts adorned with the Punisher logo and Black Lives Matter, with sales going directly to Black Lives Matter-related charities.[20]. Look for a box or option labeled Home Page (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari) or On Startup (Chrome). [1] As Parker explained, the thin blue line, representing the LAPD, was the barrier between law and order and social and civil anarchy. What "The Thin Blue Line" did was combine an investigation with a way to bring it to public attention at a much earlier time when we had fewer vehicles for creating that kind of media hoopla. Thin Blue Line USA, among the country's largest retailers of pro-police merchandise, condemned the flag's display at the Charlottesville rally, and issued a statement saying, "We reject, in the strongest possible terms, any association of our flag with racism, hatred, and bigotry. Before the flag came the phrase. The "Thin Blue Line" flag, which resembles an American flag but has a blue stripe, is a sign of support for law enforcement but has also come to signal opposition to the racial justice movement and a symbol of white supremacy or support for the Blue Lives Matter cause. One former colleague, Anthony, who spent eight years on the front line of policing, but now works with former gang members trying to get them on the straight and narrow, sent me an 1,800-word . Email Controversy sparked by "thin blue line" flags flying on town property in Hingham, Mass., continues to roil the small, coastal community, in the latest of many such flare-ups around the nation. Stephen Bishopp has a doctorate and has studied police stress, use of force and officer misconduct. Its a flag to show support for law enforcementno politics involved.. Grim declares war on drugs. Cancel 0 Cart 0 items in shopping cart. Although it has great meaning for the fraternal feelings of police officers for others in the profession, it is not reserved for use only by police officers. The idea of a "thin blue line" can be traced all the way back to a 1854 British battle formation, a "thin red line" used during the Crimean War and then popularized in art, poetry and song. In 40 years as an Appalachian cop, George Erwin Jr. came to this conclusion: Only "a thin blue line separates good from evil." But Mr. Erwin, the former sheriff of North Carolina's Henderson . In 1992, New York police Commissioner Richard Enright used the expression as part of a public relations effort. Michael Jenkins, a criminal justice professor at The University of Scranton, said he believes society has generally accepted the thin blue line with little pushback in part because many members of the public have held police in high regard over the years. The event turned deadly when a man plowed his car into a group of counterprotesters, killing a woman. In the 21st Century, the police that we need is very different, he said. Musser goes on to add that The Thin Blue Line is pivotal in "reestablishing the viability and even centrality of truth value to documentary in a way that impacted the public sphere and society at large" (2015). 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. DI Grim is onto 'a big case' while Inspector Fowler is constantly plagued by a hoaxer. Ultimately the board members voted to ban the symbol, arguing it was divisive. The flag has no association with racism, hatred, bigotry, he said. is a staff writer for The Marshall Project. Controversy followed when the flag was appropriated by White supremacists and neo-Nazis who flew it among a sea of Confederate flags during a rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017. Meanwhile, Grim is working with Scotland Yard against organised crime and Fowler is most definitely NOT jealous. [18][10] The creator of the Punisher, Gerry Conway, has criticized this usage, saying that police who use the symbol "are embracing an outlaw mentality" and "it's as offensive as putting a Confederate flag on a government building". Shults earned his doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis from the University of Missouri, with a graduate degree in Public Services Administration and bachelors in Criminal Justice Administration from the University of Central Missouri. Copyright 2023 The thin blue line has become an especially controversial symbol in the last decade, as groups have used it as a counter response to the Black Lives Matter movement, claiming Blue Lives Matter instead. "The balance has tipped, and we must consider the cost of clinging to a symbol that is undeniably and inextricably linked to actions and beliefs antithetical to UWPDs values.". . ", "I know this is hard. The Thin Blue Line symbol is a pro-police emblem that is said to represent the thin line between order and lawlessness in society that is maintained by law enforcement who wear blue uniforms. Parker used the phrase thin blue line constantly in his speeches. She said she understood the complexity and sensitivity of the issue. The township "asked the PBA to consider using the original Thin Blue Line flag instead. Five people, including Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, died in events related to the attack. Jacob said the flag was not a direct reaction to the first Black Lives Matter protestsan idea suggested by a previous origin story in Harpersbut he allows he may have first seen the thin blue line image after those protests spurred the circulation of pro-police imagery online. What started as a phrase, became popularized as a graphic image, then unfurled as a thin blue lineflag, has been around for a long time. It fosters this us versus them mentality, he said. $3.99. The most reliable account of the origin of the thin blue line is the story of the thin red line. The La Mesa Police Department wholeheartedly embraces and supports the wearing and display of other symbols as well, Runge, the departments spokesman, said, adding that some officers choose to wear pink patches to observe Breast Cancer Awareness Month and that rainbow-colored patches are being designed for officers to honor Pride Month if they choose to do so. 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