State set to remove flag placed on I-90 honoring fallen officer
CLEVELAND — The Ohio Department of Transpor- tation is planning to remove a controversial flag placed on a sign honoring a Cleve- land police officer who died on Interstate 90.
The issue of the Thin-blue Line flag comes months after the state agency removed a larger, wooden sign placed at a memorial post honor- ing David Fahey, the Cleve- land police officer who was struck and killed on the interstate in 2017.
A state spokesman said the agency was unaware that the sign had been replaced by the flag.
“We don’t approve of any permits to attach anything to our own property,” said an agency spokesman, Isaac Hunt.
The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com reached out to Fahey’s mother, Jacque- line Ketterer, for comment.
To some, the flag is a pro-police statement that grew out of the law-andorder administration of former President Donald Trump, where supporters pushed a message of Blue Lives Matter.
Many, however, have challenged the motives behind the symbol, claiming it has been linked to the racist attack at Charlottesville, Virginia, where protesters carried it along with the Confederate flag in 2017.
To the state, the issue is not a political one. It is a legal matter and a safety concern. If an unautho- rized flag or sign flies onto the highway and causes an accident, the state could be held responsible for the damages.
And that has prompted the concern on the flag on I-90.
The state installed a large green sign honoring Fahey on the interstate, just below the Alger Road overpass in Lakewood, near where the officer was struck. The sign reads, “Officer David Fahey Memorial Highway.”
The controversial flag was recently placed on the sign and below it. The flag is a black-and-white version of the American flag with a bright blue stripe in the center.
Brent Kovacs, spokesman for the state transportation department, said it is unknown who posted the flag, but the agency will reach out to Fahey’s family to discuss its removal.
The issue has become so controversial that some cities and police departments in Northeast Ohio have removed the flags and ordered them not to be flown.
In July, the state transportation department received a complaint about a wooden sign promoting the Thin Blue Line flag on the officer’s memorial post. The wooden sign was removed in late summer.
Recently, the flag appeared on the memorial sign and below it. The ground around the sign has been carefully groomed, as the grass around it is neatly trimmed, with plants and stones placed around it.
Fahey, 39, was struck on I-90 in January 2017 while trying to direct traffic following an accident. The driver who struck him, Israel Alvarez, fled but was later arrested and sentenced to 12 years in prison.