San Francisco police to replace 'thin blue line' masks after controversy
San Francisco's police chief is looking for 'neutral' face coverings for officers; Blue Lives Matter NYC founder Joseph Imperatrice reacts.
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Blue Lives Matter NYC founder, Joseph Imperatrice, on Monday blasted the San Francisco police chief for calling on officers to remove "Thin Blue Line" masks that were worn for protection from the coronavirus.
“I believe a leader in that sense shouldn’t be doing something like that. At a time when we can’t go to funerals for one another, it’s a sign to show that you’re thinking about the families, you’re thinking about the officer and this isn’t the time for the executive to be stepping on their dreams and making a gesture such as that,” Imperatrice told “Fox & Friends.”
SAN FRANCISCO POLICE CHIEF NIXES OFFICERS' 'THIN BLUE LINE' CORONAVIRUS MASKS
San Francisco’s police chief said the city’s rank and file will wear neutral face coverings to diffuse a controversy that was sparked when officers sent to patrol a May Day protest wore masks adorned with the "Thin Blue Line" flag.
The police union ordered and distributed the masks emblazoned with black-and-white American flag with a blue stripe across the middle. The symbol is associated with the Blue Lives Matter movement, which emerged in response to the national Black Lives Matter movement.
In an email obtained by KTVU-TV, Chief Bill Scott told his officers Friday he considered the blue flag and stripe “a meaningful expression to honor fallen officers.” However, he worried that some may perceive the symbol as “divisive and disrespectful.”
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A retired civil rights lawyer told the San Francisco Chronicle that the masks, which also include the logo for the San Francisco Police Officers Association, violate a long-standing policy that bars police from expressing political opinions while wearing their uniforms.
“The thin blue line is a political symbol,” John Crew said. “And it’s a POA-branded mask. It’s like wearing a political button.”
Imperatrice said that the blue line is typically on flags waved at the funeral of a fallen police officer to “show respect and honor.” Imperatrice explained that the blue line symbolizes that the officers are “standing [amid] the chaos.”
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“To go out there, and you’re supposed to be a leader, and kind of throw your cops under the bus when you’re just trying to show support for one another is completely disgusting and maybe that individual shouldn’t be in that position.”
Fox News' Robert Gearty contributed to this report.
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