A police union in Calgary is telling its members to resist the police commission’s March 30 decision to prohibit the wearing of the “thin blue line” patch on uniforms.
“We encourage each and everyone of you to wear this important symbol in defiance of the order from the commission,” John Orr, president of the Calgary Police Association (CPA), said in a letter to members obtained by CBC News.
“We were very disappointed with the decision to ban the wearing of the thin blue line patch. It’s a symbol of great importance to our members and it speaks to a number of important issues, including remembrance for our fallen, a show of support to one another and a very difficult job, which has long- and short-term health implications for our members,” Orr told CBC.
The Calgary Police Commission as well as critics of the symbol—a Canadian flag on a black and grey background with a thin blue line through it—associate it with ideas of white nationalism or white supremacy.
“The thin blue line has been featured prominently in many high-profile protests that espoused white nationalist or racist views, most recently being prominently displayed at counter protests against the Black Lives Matter movement,” the commission said in a statement explaining why it is ordering officers to stop wearing the patch.
The commission said it recognizes that officers and their families “largely wear” the patch to honour fallen officers and acknowledge the inherent dangers of the job, but said it needs to be replaced with an alternative symbol that “better reflects the values of Calgarians.”
“People in our community have clearly expressed that the thin blue line patch on police officers makes them uncomfortable due to its history and current use by groups opposing racial equity,” said Commission Chair Shawn Cornett.
Orr told CBC that “a large number” of police officers wear the patch, and in anticipation of the ban, the CPA “purchased a sufficient number of TBL patches for all our uniformed members, as well as TBL lapel pins for those working in plain clothes.”
The Epoch Times reached out to the CPA but didn’t hear back before publication time.
According to the Thin Blue Line Canada’s website, the symbol originated in the UK but is now prevalent in the United States and Canada to commemorate fallen officers and show support for law enforcement in general.
The symbol became more widely known during the 2020 protests and riots following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis at the hands of police officer Derek Chauvin, which led to increased hostility towards law enforcement and calls to “defund the police.”
While some jurisdictions sought to defund the police for a time in the United States, the trend has reversed after record-level crime rates, homicides, and an increase in attacks against officers.
Issues around the patch have also surfaced in Quebec, when left-wing politicians complained about Montreal police officers having it on their uniforms and asked the public safety minister to look into the matter.
An activist group also called for an outright ban of the symbol across the province.
The RCMP prohibits its officers from wearing the symbol while on duty anywhere in Canada.
