Calgary police officers wearing ‘thin blue line’ patch won’t be disciplined for now: CPS

Officers in Calgary refusing to take ‘thin blue line’ patches off their uniforms will not face discipline for now, according to the police service.

Last month the Calgary Police Commission (CPC) directed officers to remove the patch by the end of March, saying the symbol has a contentious history with roots in division, colonialism, and racism.

The thin blue line patch has been used by officers to show support for each other and fallen members. However, it’s also been associated with counter-protests against the Black Lives Matter movement.

“While it is acknowledged that CPC has provided lawful direction to the Service, further discussion by all stakeholders must take place to address the immediacy of the direction, as well as additional issues raised by the Calgary Police Association (CPA) and Senior Officer Association (SOA),” Police Chief Mark Neufeld said in a statement Thursday. “From individual meetings held throughout this week, it is clear that all parties are interested in finding a respectful path forward.”

Calgary Police Service’s Thin Blue Line Update https://t.co/YdcbdUbcuM pic.twitter.com/jP8riI7Y62

— Calgary Police (@CalgaryPolice) April 14, 2022

Neufeld had previously said the two-day notice from the CPC wasn’t enough time and he extended the deadline for two weeks.

He’s told CityNews for police in the city, the patch wasn’t originally associated with race issues. He added he didn’t want to exclude the voices of officers donning the blue patch.

“I actually believe that the thin blue line actually came much earlier and was actually sort of a spin-off of the thin red line which went all the way back to British soldiers in the Crimean War, I believe,” he said.

This sentiment was echoed in a statement from police, which read, “Many of our members have an immense personal connection to the Thin Blue Line patch, meant to honour the fallen and show support for police officers, especially after the murder of our colleague and friend, Sergeant Andrew Harnett.”

Harnett was killed on New Year’s Eve in 2020 while making a traffic stop in northeast Calgary.

Three officers at the scene the night he died wore bodycams which filmed Harnett’s final moments.

Read More:

• COVID-19 fines, race relations, and the thin blue line: One-on-one interview with CPS Chief Mark Neufeld

• Calgary Police union distributes thin blue line patches, despite commission’s directive

• Thin blue line flag at Edmonton Police Association ruffling feathers

• Calgary officers no longer allowed to wear thin blue line patches: Police Commission

The Calgary Police Service says conversations about the police commissions’ orders to remove the patches between the chief and two police associations are ongoing.

The April 18 deadline has also been extended indefinitely.