CAPITOLA — Metropolis leaders in Capitola on Thursday unanimously voted to disclaim a group request to fly a “skinny blue line” flag on metropolis property throughout Nationwide Police Week in Could.
Previous to the vote, Councilmember Kristen Petersen stated that, if the principle purpose of the flag-flying request was to supply seen public assist of metropolis officers, higher alternate options existed.
“As a result of it has been inappropriately aligned with teams and causes that search to divide and alienate these in our group, I discover it troublesome to consider that flying the flag would encourage others to hitch us in our assist of the police as a lot as it could trigger them to additional withdraw from such assist,” Petersen stated. “In the end, I really feel that displaying this explicit flag would make the roles of our police division tougher and never simpler.”
Using a metropolis coverage permitting public requests to fly specialised flags at Metropolis Corridor, resident TJ Welch utilized for such permission in February. On Thursday, Welch spoke out through the assembly, saying the flag request was “supporting cops” and “It was by no means meant to be a political situation and sadly the town supervisor’s workplace made it this fashion.” He added that activist teams that don't like cops had been attempting to defund police.
“We're in unprecedented instances relating to the unprovoked killing of law enforcement officials killed within the line of responsibility,” Welch wrote, partially, in his flag request utility. “The Metropolis of Capitola has a possibility to exhibit their assist for OUR law enforcement officials that stand prepared to guard our group daily by adopting the regulation enforcement flag as a part of the Non Governmental Flag coverage and flying that flag every year throughout Nationwide Police Week noticed in Could.”
Capitola resident Thairie Ritchie referred to as in to the assembly to oppose flying the skinny blue line flag. He cited racism being designated as a public well being disaster in Santa Cruz County and pointed to the defacement of the Black Lives Matter avenue artwork in downtown Santa Cruz. Ritchie stated he felt he had been profiled by Capitola police who stopped him after reviews of a light-skinned Hispanic man having burglarized a metropolis automobile wash.
“So, I believe incidents like that and different incidents I’ve heard as a black male with different black residents round Santa Cruz County, when it pertains to policing, is deeply regarding as nicely,” Ritchie stated. “As a result of undoubtedly plenty of people, black people who commute round Santa Cruz County, have this deep systemic concern of commuting previous Capitola or via Capitola, because of the hyper police presence and hyper rigidity in the case of coping with policing, significantly Capitola PD.”
The “skinny blue line” flag is usually a black-and-white illustration of an American flag, with a horizontal blue line working via its middle. The trendy model of the flag, designed in 2014 by Skinny Blue Line, USA, interprets the black area above the blue line as representing society, order and peace, with the black under referring to crime, anarchy and chaos, based on a Capitola Metropolis Council metropolis workers report by Metropolis Clerk Chloé Woodmansee and Metropolis Legal professional Samantha Zutler. The blue line is alleged to characterize regulation enforcement, which “retains crime from pervading into society,” based on the report.
“For some, the skinny blue line image honors the dedication officers make to their group and is seen as a logo of police solidarity,” metropolis workers wrote in its report.
Nonetheless, the flag’s in depth adoption by extremist teams espousing white supremacist and anti-government beliefs, together with widespread use by attendees on the riot on Jan. 6, 2021, earned it a very controversial interpretation, based on the town report. The Skinny Blue Line, USA, has rejected such associations publicly. Metropolis workers analysis reveals the flag’s symbology dates to British battle formations in 1854 and was popularized by Los Angeles Police Chief William H. Parker within the Fifties.
This week’s council dialogue was delayed from the March 10 assembly, in order to permit the Capitola Public Security and Group Providers Basis to weigh in on use of the flag. In line with the town report, six of 11 group members voted to oppose flying the flag. Mayor Sam Storey, a member of the group, stated he was one in every of two abstentions from voting on the problem. The advice from metropolis workers Thursday additionally was to disclaim the request. Requested for his opinion on the problem, Capitola Police Chief Andrew Dally thanked Welch for his assist of his division however famous that the flag’s controversial connotations could possibly be divisive for the group.
“Our metropolis flag pole represents the group and as your chief of police, I need to be inclusive and actually delicate to all of the group wants and issues,” Dally informed the council. “I need everybody in our group to really feel as in the event that they’ll be handled pretty by our police division. This proposal could possibly be counterproductive to my purpose of guaranteeing the group feels protected and valued.”