The following includes editorial content which expresses the opinion of the writer, a retired police chief and current staff writer for Law Enforcement Today.
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LOS ANGELES, CA- This is what happens when a pandering political hack is appointed as chief of police.
We’re talking about the Los Angeles Police Department and gutless police chief Michel Moore, who has banned the Thin Blue Line flag from being displayed in public areas, cowering to a complaint the flag represents “violent, extremist views,” Fox News reports.
LAPD bans Thin Blue Line flag over complaint it represents 'violent, extremist views' https://t.co/VoPyhUUNk4
— Fox News (@FoxNews) January 14, 2023
In an email to Fox News Digital, Moore defended his decision to grab his ankles, bend over, and take it up the wazoo in kowtowing to political correctness.
“Yesterday, we received a community complaint of the presence of a Blue Line Flag with ‘the view that it symbolized support for violent extremist views, such as those represented by the Proud Boys and others.
“I directed to have them taken down from the public lobby. The U.S. flag should be proudly displayed in our lobbies whenever possible. Memorials for our fallen are also authorized in public spaces,” Moore said.
Moore continued that a single complaint over the flag being displayed in one station’s lobby spurred his decision.
“It’s unfortunate that extremist groups have hijacked the use of the ‘Thin Blue Line flag’ to symbolize their undemocratic, racist and bigoted views.”
One must wonder when this gutless bureaucrat will similarly order the removal of the American flag from LAPD spaces.
After all not so long ago, the Department of Justice said that symbols of American patriotism could be considered “extremist symbols.” A coward such as Moore could easily be seen bending over to the radical left and having the American flag removed as well.
The head of the Los Angeles Police Department is facing vehement backlash from his own officers after ordering police stations to remove thin blue line flags honoring fallen cops from all publicly accessible areas. https://t.co/DmwjaUf7vB
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) January 15, 2023
In issuing the order, Moore said the symbol must be removed from public areas. Officers will still be permitted to display the flag at “their workspace, locker door, or personal vehicle.”
Yes, until some leftist whack job complains they were “intimidated” by the symbol when they were giving a statement to a detective. You know it’s coming.
Moore tried to cover for his decision by equivocating that he personally viewed the flag as a symbol of “the honor, valor, dedication and sacrifice of law enforcement to protect our communities,” yet claimed that others had undermined the flag with their “racist, bigoted and oppressive values.”
LAPD bans Thin Blue Line flag over complaint it represents 'racist, bigoted views'https://t.co/X3vxzvZtCk
— National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) (@GLFOP) January 14, 2023
In other words, when push came to shove and political expediency became the rule of the day, Moore tucked his tail between his legs and ran away.
Moore claimed that police department lobby areas should be places where citizens feel welcome and safe and “free of political ideology.”
Meanwhile, the union representing LAPD officers slammed Moore’s decision, saying it amounted to “political pandering.”
“It is difficult to express the level of utter disgust and disappointment with Chief Moore’s politically pandering directive to remove Thin Blue Line flats and memorials for fallen officers from public areas within our police stations. This direction came as a result of complaints from anti-police, criminal apologists and activists who hold too much sway over our city leaders, and unfortunately, our Chief,” the Board of Directors for the Los Angeles Police Protective League wrote in a statement.
The union continued, arguing that they “vehemently” opposed “this disrespectful and defeatist kowtowing by our department leadership to groups that praise the killing of police officers and outright call for violence against those of us in uniform. We have directly expressed our outrage to the Chief.”
The LA Police Protective League represents the over 9,900 men and women of the LAPD and dismissed Moore’s contention that the flag was divisive, and rather described it as “a symbol of unity.”
“Let’s all remember what the Thin Blue Line flag is and what it represents: ‘The Thin Blue Line flag features a black and white image of the American flag with the horizontal stripe beneath the field of white stars on the black background. The stars represent the citizenry who stand for justice and order. The darkness represents chaos and anarchy, and to many, a memorial to the law enforcement officers who have perished in the line of duty,” the statement continued.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles isn’t the only place where gutless bureaucrats refuse to stand up to the anti-police mob. In Springfield Township, Pennsylvania, the board voted 5-2 to ban the Thin Blue Line flag from township employees or property. The symbol appears on the Police Benevolent Association logo.
Last night, Springfield Township in Montgomery County, PA, voted to ban the Thin Blue Line Logo from township premises.
Commissioner Eddie Graham compared the Thin Blue line logo to a confederate flag. pic.twitter.com/C7ihQSopBb
— Megan Brock (@MegEBrock) January 13, 2023
The ban came after approximately two years of debate over the issue, which started in 2021 when the flag upset some township residents.
Commissioner Eddie Graham, a gutless coward like Moore, claimed the flag was comparable to the Confederate flag for blacks.
“When you wave this flag, it is just like for African Americans waving of a Confederate flag.,” Graham, clearly not a wordsmith, said.
The board ultimately voted for the symbol’s removal, calling it divisive.
That decision did not sit well with some members of the community, including resident John English. He said when he put up a blue heart with the Thin Blue Line symbol in his window after a police officer was killed, his family was targeted for harassment.
“My family is looked upon as white supremacists. And to use that term so loosely in this society is disgusting. It’s vile. These are the vilest people on earth and this is what you’re comparing people to,” he railed at the board, according to a report in the Delaware Valley Journal.
Police officers in the community were also incensed by the move, arguing the board had no clue what the symbol means to police officers.
“Unless you’ve stood in the shoes of a police officer, you really don’t know what we do,” one officer said. He told the board the assertion police go to work with the intention of killing people is wrong, then went on to describe having rocks and bottles thrown at him during the Black Lives Matter chaos of 2020.
“You are asserting every time you see the Thin Blue Line flag that person is a racist. That doesn’t make it racist,” the outlet said.
In explaining the matter to Fox News Digital, Springfield Township manager Michael Taylor said:
“The resolution that was adopted by the Board of Commissioners of Springfield Township prohibits the display of what is actually the ‘Blue Lives Matter Flag’ on the uniforms of Township employees or that 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).”
Taylor also claimed the symbol has been “co-opted by extremist groups and used to counter the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement.” [emphasis added]
Yes, like shaking down businesses and enriching the founders. Got it. Unfortunately, most black Americans have gotten nothing from that organization.
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