“My initial reaction when I heard that the patch was no longer to be worn by CPS officers was that it took some time, but I’m glad it does,” said Adam Masia, a member of the United Black People’s Alliship.  “My second reaction was a small disappointment when I found out that the direction had to go down from the (Commission) and it was not in the goodwill of (the Calgary Police Department) and the executive leadership there on their own, given their commitment to an anti-racist organization “.
The commission said the decision to ban the symbol was made for a variety of reasons, including its controversial history of “division, colonialism and racism”, and acknowledged that some wore the patch to “honor the dead”.
“What we are asking here is for our police service not to wear a well-known hatred symbol whose origins are buried in hateful thoughts and acts of hatred when they serve the public,” Koon said.  Gian-Carlo Carra, who is a member of the Commission.  “If we have members of the service who believe that whatever sense of entitlement they have, there will be an account.” 
Calgary Police Association President John Orr said a “significant” number of police officers wore one and it was unclear what the consequences would be if they continued to do so last Friday.
“The (CPA) will encourage our members to keep wearing the patch,” Orr said. 
According to Carra, any disciplinary action will be taken against Calgary Police Chief Mark Neufeld.
“Well, the senior officer should obey the commission and the rank and file should obey the (senior officer),” he said. 
“Citizens are overseeing the Calgary Police Department and this citizen oversight has decided and we will achieve compliance one way or the other.”

Calgary’s advisor Gian-Carlo Carra
“If I saw an officer with that badge, the thin blue line, I would automatically assume that this person has bad intentions when he interacts with me,” Massiah said.  “This is not the way it is supposed to be from the point of view of a civil servant who is there to serve and protect.”

LARGER DISCONNECTION

Some experts say that the disagreement between these two organizations speaks of greater disconnection. 
“There are a lot of implications to this,” said Kelly Sundberg, a criminologist and professor at Mount Royal University.  “Apart from labor issues, (there is) a challenge in terms of tension between members and their leadership, with the police leadership.”
The Calgary Police Commission consists of 10 community members and two councilors, who provide oversight of the CPS.
The Alberta Police Act requires the police chief to report directly to the committee and the committee to instruct the service through the chief.
A Calgary police spokesman made the following statement late Thursday afternoon.
“The leadership team of the Calgary Police Department is currently evaluating all options regarding voluntary compliance with the order from the Calgary Police Committee not to wear the blue line patch. We will take a measured and balanced approach to this and we will constantly re-evaluate as we navigate this deeply personal issue for our members. “