In a letter to members received by CBC News, Calgary Police Association President John Orr wrote: “We encourage each of you to wear this important symbol in defiance of the commission’s mandate.” After a year of deliberation, the Calgary Police Commission announced its decision Wednesday that police officers on duty are not allowed to wear Canadian-flag patches with a thin blue line through them. Thin blue patches have a history of correlation with white supremacy. The commission said the symbol had appeared in high-profile demonstrations with links to white nationalist or racist views and in anti-Black Lives Matter protests. For some members of the police force, the patch with the thin blue line represents something completely different – it is considered a way to honor the dead. “We were very disappointed with the decision to ban the use of the thin blue line patch. “It’s a very difficult job, which has a long-term and short-term impact on the health of our members,” Orr told CBC News. “It also shows our commitment to the community and to be by their side in their most difficult days.” In a letter to union members, Orr said the union was awaiting a decision from the police committee and “bought a sufficient number of TBL patches for all our uniformed members, as well as TBL lapel pins for those working in plain clothes.” .
“There will be an account,” says the councilor
Coun. Gian-Carlo Carra, who is also a member of the police committee, made it clear on Thursday that the committee would enforce its ban on the ban.
“What we are asking here is for our police service not to wear a well-known symbol of hatred, the origin of which is buried in hatred thoughts and acts of hatred when they serve the public,” he said.
“If we have members of the service who believe that whatever sense of entitlement they have, there will be an account.”
Coun. Gian-Carlo Carra says that it still has to be “decided” what will happen if the police choose to wear the thin blue lines despite the committee’s decision not to allow them anymore. (CBC)
It is yet to be “determined” what the consequences will be for the officers who choose to wear the patch, he said.
Orr, in his letter, denies that the patch is a symbol of hatred.
“We can not and will not let a few people from marginalized groups choose this important symbol. It would be weak and cowardly,” he wrote.
See the following statement regarding the decision of the Calgary Police Commission regarding the use of the Thin Blue Line patch by members of the Calgary Police Service. https://t.co/dWTRARvHpT
– @ CalgaryPolice
Carra points out that the blue ribbon is more appropriate for identifying officers who have died.
The police commission said Wednesday that the patch should be replaced with a symbol that “better reflects the values of the Calgarians.”
“The Calgary Police Department is trying to get it involved in something that is not, and we are committed to being anti-racist. Members of our community who understand what this symbol means are offensive and have every right to feel that way,” she said. Carra.
“If you are a civil servant serving the security of our community and you ότι believe that your privilege of wearing it prevails over what this symbol really means or what you would like this symbol to mean, it prevails over what this symbol really means – you “make a mistake.”
Orr told CBC News he did not know the exact number of police officers wearing the patch, but “the number is large.”
In an e-mail to CBC News, the Calgary Police Department said: “We are currently evaluating all options regarding voluntary compliance with the order from the Calgary Police Commission not to wear the thin blue patch. We will receive measures and a balanced approach to it and will be constantly re-evaluated as we explore this deeply personal issue for our members ”.
