Calgary police officers will not be punished for displaying ‘thin blue line’ patch ‘until further notice’

Members of the Calgary Police Service who continue to display a "thin blue line" patch have been told they will not be punished so long as the Calgary Police Commission and the police associations continue discussions over the symbol.

The patches have become a contentious issue as groups argue over its intended meaning.

"While it is acknowledged that CPC has provided lawful direction to the service," Chief Mark Neufeld said in a press release, "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 and Senior Officer Association."

The CPC's order to remove the patches was initially issued in March, however as The Calgary Sun reports, it was met with "varying reactions" from officers.

The "thin blue line" represents different things for different people. For many police officers, it is worn as a sign of solidarity with their fellow officers who have been killed in the line of duty.

For others, it evokes the police killing of George Floyd, among other racially sensitive events.

As The Sun reports, officers began wearing the patch long before George Floyd was murdered, thus making the association between the two tenuous.

"Support for the positive things the thin blue line represents was unanimous," the Commission said, however "some participants raised concerns about the impact of the symbol’s alternate meanings in the community."

While the RCMP and other police departments have made the decision to ban the patch, the CPS is fighting hard to allow officers to keep displaying it.