Police defend ‘Blue Line’ flags on patrol cars
FORT BRAGG » Toward the end of Monday evening’s City Council meeting, a councilor brought up a letter received from a concerned citizen regarding the city’s police cars displaying the “Thin Blue Line” flag — a black and white American flag with one of the stripes replaced by a blue line.
The Fort Bragg police department then released a statement Tuesday evening stating that the stickers were “originally placed on the Fort Bragg patrol cars to honor fallen Deputy Ricky Del Fiorentino, the first officer killed in the line of duty within the community of Fort Bragg.”
Del Fiorentino died in 2014 while searching for a subject who had abducted two people in Oregon earlier in the day and been involved in a shooting in Leggett.
“The Thin Blue Line Flag was created to honor those who protect and serve, not those who
abuse their power. This honor towards a fallen officer will not take away from the oath we took to protect and serve all persons of Fort Bragg and we will continue to do so with the utmost respect for every person we encounter,” stated the press release. “This department takes pride in our community and our staff will not break this community’s trust.”
The Thin Blue Line flag has increasingly become controversial. Those who display the flag say it is a sign of police solidarity, while those who criticize it see it as a symbol of white supremacy. The flag has commonly been seen at farright rallies, including at the 2017 ‘Unite the Right’ rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where it flew next to Confederate flags.
Thin Blue Line USA, one of the largest online retailers of the image, has officially disavowed its use in Charlottesville.
The Marshall Project, a nonprofit organization for criminal justice journalism, interviewed Michael White, a professor of criminology at Arizona State University in June. White said then that he understands how the thin blue line flag has become a part of police culture, and that officers may view it as a sign of solidarity, but he added that he worries about the message it sends to the public.
“It fosters this ‘us versus them’ mentality,” White told The Marshall Project earlier this year. “The police and community should work together, in order to produce safety. Each should respect the role of the other. If you’re looking at the community as a potential enemy, or a threat, that’s certainly going to hinder any positive relationship.”
At Monday evening’s City Council meeting, councilor Bernie Norvell said he would be contacting the police department to speak with them about the issue, but did not identify what the goal of the conversation would be.