Gondek wins order to remove thin blue line from officers’ uniforms

TCS Wire

Calgary mayor Jyoti Gondek’s city council has succeeded in making Calgary police stop wearing the thin blue line patch, becoming the first police service in Canada to do so.

As per internal emails sent to officers, Calgary Police Association president Johnny Orr wrote, “We reluctantly recommend you remove the [thin blue line] patches and comply with [the Calgary Police Commission’s] order.”

“While we know that removing the patch is a tough pill to swallow, we believe that [we] have achieved several ‘wins,’” he continued.

As for the wins, Orr says that officers will still be allowed to wear the patch on dress uniforms “to show remembrance for the fallen on those occasions, which Orr argues is a tacit admission that the patch is not a “hate symbol.”

“We would be the first major police service in the country to do so and, in turn, would lead the way for all police services across the country to follow suit,” Orr continues.

He further states that he believes defying the order to remove the thin blue line patch would lead to suspensions and other disciplinary actions.

As previously reported by The Counter Signal in March, Calgary Police Commission Chair Shawn Cornett said that the thin blue line is viewed as connected to racism and has to go.

full story at https://thecountersignal.com/gondek-wins-order-to-remove-thin-blue-line-from-officers-uniforms/