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The University of Wisconsin-Madison Police Chief has banned police officers from using “Thin Blue Line” footage while on duty.
Chief Kristen roman informed officers of the ban in a Jan.15 email made public this week.
The ministry came under criticism in November over Photo posted on his Twitter account which showed a “Thin Blue Line” flag displayed at the police department office.
The “Thin Blue Line” flag, which resembles an American flag but has a blue stripe, is a sign of support for law enforcement, but has also come to signal opposition to the racial justice movement and a symbol of white supremacy or support for the blues The cause lives on the matter.
Roman said the flag has been “co-opted” by extremists with “hate ideologies” in promoting their views which “go against” the “core values” of the department and that it hinders “our efforts to build trust “.
“Guided by our core values, my responsibility to keep you safe the best I can, and by what I believe in my heart is the right thing to do under the current circumstances, I am urged to take specific steps to keep the UWPD of the thin images of blue lines and the fear and mistrust that they present to too many people in our community right now, ”she wrote.
She said she understood the complexity and the sensitivity of the issue.
“My attempts to point out the distinctions and the true meaning as well as to expose the acts committed under the thin blue line of the banner nationwide continue to fail in ways that I cannot simply ignore.” She writes. “The balance has shifted, and we must consider the cost of holding onto a symbol that is unmistakably and inextricably linked to actions and beliefs antithetical to the values of the UWPD.”
Roman said visible public displays of “Thin Blue Line” imagery – flags, pins, bracelets, notebooks, coffee mugs and decals – are not allowed during service. She said there would be exceptions for specific exposures to events such as death observances in the service line.
Officers with “Thin Blue Line” tattoos are not required to cover them up, she said, adding: “My intention is not to categorically reject the symbol for what we believe it represents. , and I don’t think he’s inherently racist / fascist as much as he claims. “
Instead, she said, its “intention is to be reasonably sensitive to its detrimental impact on many members of our community for whom the visible symbol has a very different meaning.”
Roman mentioned that the flags were waved by “extremists” during the “insurgency” on the US Capitol on January 6.
She also urged officers to carefully consider how they “engage with those who espouse ideologies contrary” to the ministry’s core values and the constitution they have sworn to uphold.
“Be very aware of the consequences that the jovial interaction, selfies and the like will have for the department and our community at large in the context of everything I have reported in this not-so-brief email,” he said. she declared.
Some law enforcement officers on duty have been criticized – including one who posed for a selfie with the predominantly white crowd – by President-elect Joseph R. Biden and many others for their response to pro-Trump rioters who violated Capitol Hill.
“No one can tell me that if it was a group of Black Lives Matter that protested yesterday, they wouldn’t have been treated very, very differently from the mob of thugs who stormed the Capitol,” said Biden a day after the attack. “We all know this is true and it is unacceptable.”
Five people, including Capitol Hill cop Brian Sicknick, died in events related to the attack.
Roman concluded her email by saying that she understood that her decision could upset or irritate some officers and that she felt “hurt and disappointed in our current reality”.
“I know it’s difficult. I know this question is complicated. I also know that a symbol is not what unites us or makes us a team,” she said. “Rather, it’s our shared commitment to service and to doing what is best for our community first and foremost.
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