Along with banning the flag from station lobbies, Moore said his order includes patches on uniforms and bumper stickers on police vehicles. Violators could face discipline, a department spokeswoman said Thursday.
In a departmentwide email, Moore said the flag’s original meaning of support for police had been overshadowed when it began appearing at rallies for the Proud Boys and other far-right extremist groups.
“It’s unfortunate that extremist groups have hijacked the use of the ‘Thin Blue Line Flag’ to symbolize their undemocratic, racist, and bigoted views. Flags serve as powerful symbols with specific meanings,” he wrote, adding that officers would still be allowed to display the flag in their personal work spaces, lockers and personal vehicles.
Moore’s decision went viral in right-wing media circles as critics lambasted him for what they called his kowtowing to progressive ideals. During one of her regular appearances on Fox News, former reality star and Olympic decathlete Caitlyn Jenner accused Moore of “going woke on us big time” and predicted that the move would deal a blow to officer morale.
...Former LAPD Sgt. Jody Stiger, who once was president of the association that represents the department’s Black cops, said that he texted Moore to say he agreed with the decision.
“The reason being not because I think it’s racist, but the racists have hijacked it. It’s been around for decades, and our meaning of it is to honor those who have fallen in the line of duty,” said Stiger, who retired from the department last year to take a position as director of community safety for the University of California system. “That’s where it came from, and that’s where it always represented for most law enforcement officers.”
While at the LAPD, he said he spoke up whenever he saw Trump memorabilia hanging around a police station. Such expressions were inappropriate in such a divided climate and may have violated a department ban on political activity while on duty, he said. His concerns, he added, were not politically motivated. “I don’t care if it’s a Biden flag,” he said.
