OH COME ON: Now They’re Saying The Design Of Police Cars Is Racist….

Hoping to give their cruisers a much-needed facelift, the Laguna Beach Police Department was proud to unveil their patrol cars’ new design.

The department, however, was immediately demanded to change it because it’s “a symbol of racism” toward immigrants, as soon as people saw the design.

It is unfortunate to see that the anti-police narrative that the media exacerbate, has resulted in a decrease in new hires, leaving departments desperate to recruit officers. Not realizing that the rising number of law enforcement officer deaths is disappointing news and these figures show how dangerous and difficult their job really is.

Something as trivial as the look of their patrol cars shouldn’t be any concern to the public, with all the major issues facing departments across the United States, but residents of California are pressuring the local police to pay more attention to the appearance of their cars than to the crimes afflicting the neighborhood; with some people have found the print to be racist, as Mayor Pro Tem Steve Dicterow admitted.  “Some of the words people used was that they felt it was threatening, intimidating, harassing and a symbol of racism,” Dicterow said.

The lettering on the patrol car doors, which displays “POLICE” in American flag print, has gotten the Laguna Beach Police Department into trouble with the Laguna Beach City Council. The department never anticipated any negative feedback when they unveiled their new and improved design on their cruisers.

And because some locals feel displaying the American flag on the patrol cars is a clear threat toward “immigrants and visitors” and is “too aggressive,” Dicterow said the council has agreed to reconsider allowing the department to keep the design that is currently featured on 11 patrol cars.

“Clearly, the way it looks on the car is not what anyone expected it to look like. I think it’s reasonable that we’re going to look at it again so that whatever we [approve] is exactly what we put on the car.”

But for those calling for the print to be removed and replaced with something less American, Attorney Jennifer Welsh Zeiter has questioned the motive of those locals; as many are pointing out what they see as the underlying problem with the new design.

Zeiter said, “They are so filled with hatred toward this … office of the president of the United States and the current occupant of that office that they cannot see through their current biases to realize that a police vehicle with the American flag is the ultimate American expression.”

However, after Zeiter criticized the print at the city council meeting, saying it looked “aggressive,”  some people like Zeiter, wants the print changed. In actuality, more than 150 calls, texts, and emails praising the American flag font were sent to local artist Carrie Woodburn.

Woodburn said, “I don’t really care too much about the design, other than what I said — it’s bad art. I’m being attacked for that because the narrative feeds a fire of division, which is what our culture has become.”

The council still considering replacing the print with a “cloud-like look” to satisfy those who opposed the flag prints. Despite that Protesters gathered close to the shore to support the patriotic artwork when the council suggested a more subdued black-and-white version of the text.

“People are screaming that the American flag on a police car is somehow or another … hurting people’s feelings who might be immigrants or visitors. People are actually ridiculous enough to bring up comments about our cop cars having American flags on them,” said Councilman Peter Blake.

“The American flag doesn’t represent any political ideology but a nation of diverse yet united people,” Emil Monda, the president of the Laguna Beach Republicans explained, perhaps the most compelling argument, despite the critics’ claims. Monda said, “It’s the flag of the United States of America. It’s not a Republican flag, it’s not a Democrat flag. It’s our flag, and we can’t lose that.”

Saying that the reactions have all been positive, The Laguna Beach Police indicated that they haven’t heard any complaints, despite the council’s assertion that there has been a deluge of complaints against the American flag design.

“Every time I came to a stop sign, every time I came to a red light, somebody is telling me the car looks great. Every one of our members that drives the car loves it, and we look forward to keeping them the way they are,” Laguna Beach Police Cpl. Ryan Hotchkiss said at the March meeting.

There isn’t much hope left for our country if we can’t agree that our flag represents the unification of the people under one set of values and it has nothing to do with skin color, class, or even political bias. It’s disturbing that our nation’s flag is being portrayed by some as a symbol of racism and hate when it is simply the penultimate example of our country’s identity.

Sources: Taphaps,  The Los Angeles Times , NYdailynews