DuBois-Walton: Ban On-Duty ​“Blue Line” Masks

Likely mayoral candidate Karen DuBois-Walton Tuesday called on New Haven police to bar officers from wearing ​“Thin Blue Line” masks while on the job.

DuBois-Walton is exploring a Democratic primary challenge to incumbent Mayor Justin Elicker this election year.

On Tuesday, a day after the ​“Thin Blue Line” issue erupted in New Haven, DuBois-Walton waded into the law enforcement uniform debate with a Facebook post and a follow-up phone interview with the Independent.

The Facebook post shared an article the Independent published on Monday about Acting Police Chief Renee Dominguez’s defense and embrace of the ​“Thin Blue Line” flag as a symbol of pride, professionalism, and solidarity among law enforcement officers. Some officers have been wearing face masks with the symbol during the Covid-19 pandemic. (Click here for a full story with her explanations, which began with a Crimean War citation.) Some other police chiefs have banned the display of the symbol on the job because it has become popularly associated with efforts to shield cops from punishment for brutality, and with opposition to the Black Lives Matter movement. The symbol was also displayed by participants in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

That same Independent article included comments from a concerned city resident, a city police commissioner, and from local Black clergy about that same symbol representing an antagonistic ​“us vs. them” style of policing, especially against African American communities.

It also included comments from Mayor Justin Elicker, who appointed Dominguez to the top cop role, calling for the police uniform policy to be updated and for officers not to carry ​“Thin Blue Line” masks while on the job.

In her Facebook post on Tuesday, DuBois-Walton wrote, ​“It’s troubling that the use of a ​‘Thin Blue Line’ symbol was allowed and justified by NHPD leadership, even after an explanation of pain that the symbol causes for so many in our community. Policing can only be successful when the police have strong relationships with the community rooted in mutual understanding. The Acting Chief must hear what the community is saying and make a change, and the city must immediately strengthen its uniform and dress code policy.”

In a follow-up phone interview, DuBois-Walton elaborated on her call for the police department to implement an on-duty uniform policy that ensures that officers do not wear face masks that display controversial messages.

That doesn’t extend only to the ​“Thin Blue Line” flag, she said. It also should include Black Lives Matter paraphernalia, or any other messaging that is not directly related to the New Haven Police Department.

“Folks are allowed to have all different beliefs,” she said. ​“But when we come to work, we ask that slogans are not allowed. And that’s any slogan.”

From the start of the pandemic, she said, Elm City Communities/Housing Authority of New Haven — which she has run for the past 14 years, and plans to step away from at the end of this month—implemented a mask policy and handed out masks to employees. Initially, they gave out blank, blue surgical masks. Now they provide employees with masks bearing the words, ​“Elm City Communities.” The police department should do something similar for its officers, she said.

“You’re free to have your beliefs. You’ve got your First Amendment rights. But when you come into the uniformed service, I don’t think it’s too much to expect that your mask be a blank canvas and not have things that send a message to our community other than what the department wants to send.”

DuBois-Walton also dove a bit deeper on how troubling she finds the ​“Thin Blue Line” image in particular, especially when worn and displayed by law enforcement.

“Whatever the history was, and I have no idea of the Crimean War references, but the current day references have been in juxtaposition to Black Lives Matter and have been used as a counterpoint to talk about Blue Lives Matter in a way that has been very distressing and troubling and at times denigrating to the Black Lives Matter movements,” she said.

“For a community that has been so energized around the Black Lives Matter movement, even pre-George Floyd, I think to not recognize that history and how it would play in a city of this kind of diversity and with this active of a Black Lives Matter, anti-racism, anti-bias kind of energy, to me that was really a misread of the community and was troubling.”

She connected this debate around on-duty police display of the ​“Thin Blue Line” flag to larger citywide conversations about recent police use-of-force incidents, and about her call for $10 million in federal pandemic-era relief money to be spent on violence prevention and police accountability measures. One of her proposals for how to spend that federal money is on incorporating mandatory intrinsic bias, anti-racism, and anti-bias training and use of force and de-escalation training ​“as an ongoing practice for effective relationships in the community”

“For too long as a country, we’ve centered only certain people’s experiences,” DuBois-Walton said on Tuesday. ​“We’ve made that what’s normal. The work of equity, and the work of anti-racism, is to dismantle that limited frame that made certain things normal, that made certain things the judge of what is humanity, and that othered everything else.”

“None of us are above bias or prejudice,” she continued. ​“But we are only enslaved by our bias if we never examine it and continue thinking ours is the only way to think.”

Middletown Former Police Chief: ​“Showing Unity Between The Police And Public”

For an alternate take from a top municipal law enforcement official on the ​“Thin Blue Line” flag, see below for a lengthy statement issued by then-Middletown Police Chief William McKenna in June 2020 about his decision to remove the flag from his department. (McKenna retired from his Middletown position less than a month later.) The message below was first published on Facebook here and on the local news site Patch here.

I feel compelled to address the rapidly growing conversation about the request to remove, and ultimately the decision to remove, the ​“Thin Blue Line” and the ​“Blue Lives Matter” flags from the MPD. This has become contentious and has garnered both appreciation and frustration from groups of people here in our community…and I would assume would be mirrored anywhere in America right now. Below are my reasons, which were discussed with the Mayor and which led to the decision.

First, let me explain that as the Chief of this police agency, an agency in which I have a burning desire to call one of the very best in the state of CT… I was faced with a difficult decision. This is why…the Thin Blue Line flag is, and quite frankly always, has been easily interpreted to represent honor and devotion to the career we chose. It is very significant and meaningful not only for us officers as individuals, yet for those who took the same oath years ago to serve the public. It serves as a sense of pride and commitment to a job in which sacrifices are made from the day you are sworn in. There are family sacrifices, friendship sacrifices and god forbid sometimes ultimate sacrifices. To those officers, wives, husbands, parents and children of police officers who have loved ones in our profession, I am talking about you. I love you… I love you for playing part in those sacrifices, understanding the pressures your loved ones are faced with and embracing the time when they come home from serving others. The times away from home were not their fault, they were ordered to work (on those holidays or birthdays) … with no option to refuse, except the option of potential discipline. It is the officers, their loved ones and the supporters of police officers that are most upset. They feel deprived of a way to show their respect and honor to their loved ones by flying the flags.

The symbols have meant absolutely nothing to us (and at the same time everything to us) other than what I explained above. A show of support and devotion to those making a career out of separating ​“good from chaos” and trying to keep their communities safe and free of harm and danger. For those of you who don’t know… we have a plaque hanging on our lobby wall with OUR definition of the Thin Blue Line. It reads in part … ​“The Thin Blue Line is a phrase known worldwide to Police Officers…it denotes the final barrier which stands between our citizens and chaos. The only time the line is disrupted is when an officer has fallen or is injured while performing his, or her, sworn duty. At the end of duty, when this breach appears, our youngest and finest step up and fill in the line and help maintain order and serve the community…” It also goes on to give that heartbroken name of one of ours (our brother officer) that was breached on a fatal winter day in January of 2000. A day in which I will never want to relive. A day in which he was responding to a call for help to stop potential harm and potential danger. In ending, the plaque on our wall titled ​“Thin Blue Line” reads “… Let’s pledge to honor his memory to serve the citizens of Middletown with Pride, Integrity, Strength and Compassion…”

Those words are the reason why this decision has now become a debate, one in which I am now torn. Those words are the reasons why many people are outraged on the decision to remove. Our belief behind the Thin Blue Line is not cryptic. It is not cop code for anything other than what I just wrote. It is a symbol to pay honor and respect to special people who made the commitment to serve you. Look at the words… ​“Serve,” ​“Honor,” ​“Citizens,” ​“Pride,” ​“Strength,” ​“Compassion,” ​“Middletown”. That is the definition that has been posted on our wall since the building was built on Main St.

Yet it wasn’t until Monday, June 1st when I received the request to remove that I learned something new. After serving over 25 years of service in Middletown, unequivocally understanding and believing the definition of the symbol to mean and represent what is stated above… I found out that others in this community, and I assume others everywhere, have coined the symbol to something much different. I learned that others have embraced the symbol with negative connotations, or the likes of the ​“us versus them” mentality. I learned the original purpose was unjustifiably adopted by others, outside of Law Enforcement. I did research and read that that the symbol has at times been used and embraced by white supremacist support. I heard some groups also look at it as a sign of oppression. In all my years, I have never, ever heard anything even remotely close to that. I, of course, know the phrase Blue Lives Matter came closely following the Black Lives Matter movement, and as a direct response in public support of the two slain NYPD Officers Ramos and Liu in December 2014 and the tense times following. Yet to hear that the Thin Blue Line was pegged to be used radically was new to me and it was something I had never heard. Yet, I didn’t stop there; I wasn’t going to let Google make my decision. I reached out to others I know in the community and asked if they had ever heard this. Some have, yet some haven’t. One black female, who is a local professional who I respect dearly stated that they know the flag represents a strong sense of pride for officers and a strong sense of support for those in Law Enforcement, (whether friends or strangers), and people can appreciate that. Yet she also said there are others whose perceptions differ and others, at times, see it as negative signs of fear and divide… the ​“us vs. them.” That, too, was new news to me, yet it made me step back a bit to think things out.

I then thought of Saturday night’s peaceful march on Main St. for George Floyd. If you weren’t there you may not relate, yet what I saw in the crowd was real. I saw tears, screams and lots of emotions that would take too long to explain. But the loudest thing I heard where the things being yelled in from the crowd. They were yelling ​“when will things change?”… ​“what have you done”? They yelled ​“we need you to hear us.” ​“Listen!” That stuck with me. We have done a tremendous amount of work at the MPD and in the City, yet how would they know? We don’t advertise all of these initiatives and we obviously can’t push a button to spit out all of our steps. That stuck with me.

I asked myself if this was the time to build trust, open my eyes and ears to real people close to Middletown, my friends and people I trust. The same people who also support our department, and at the same time(s) voices their concerns, frustrations and advise. They want our department to be the best just like we do. I decided that this gesture may serve as a step to attempt to eliminate some trauma and tension during very emotional times.

So, to the ones who are upset with the decision, you have the right to be upset. You are good people… friends, co-workers and probably family of mine… do me this …understand that the country is ablaze right now and we are seeing it on TV. Each day I wake up only to hope I don’t hear of another innocent person hurt, or killed, because of the violence. Especially one of our own. Yet that very thing happened today when I woke up to the news of the violence. Not here, but close enough. People from both sides got injured and, or, killed last night. Supporters of the Thin Blue Line… Yes, I have the same belief as you when it comes to our VERY TRUE meaning of the flag… the one on our plaque… the one mentioned above. Nothing Else! Not the adopted version that others have come to see. As you have the right to be upset, others have the right to voice their perceptions.

I have the responsibility to takes the best steps to make our department and City safe, and better. I made this decision because of what I had learned. I made this decision so no other officer would be faced with having a camera shoved in their face to address the media… so frustrated people didn’t flood our lobby asking our officers (or your loved ones) to take it down immediately when I wasn’t around to assist. I need you to understand that I made this decision because it was the right decision to make for us, at the right time, to show people that we are built to be role models and to be a part of our community and to move forward with getting better… building trust and taking the first step to show that we can listen and we can cooperate! I understand that many of you may disagree, which is your right. Yet I did this as a sign of strength for our department, not weakness. Reaching our hand out to those good people who are hurting right now is the right thing to do, not only for us… but for humanity.

Now for those on both sides of this debate, I ask you, what are you doing to stop this divide… to stop the violence? If nothing yet, join in on the City’s future plans and/or forums which will be coming soon. We all need to hear each other out. Use that energy to do your part of being a great American and voice your opinion on how we can lessen the obvious tension that is even right here in our home town. You can be angry, but turn it into positive progress for all of us. There is power in numbers, and I don’t mean in numbers of people signing petitions. I mean numbers of people who are willing to get into some uncomfortable conversations that many are quick to criticize. Instead of sitting back and clicking on buttons, and pressing send… take some time to devote to making your community safer and free of any of the issues that make you upset. Step back a second and digest what other perceptions are out there from members right here in our community that are hurt. When people are hurt, that hurt turns into anger, the anger can turn to fear, and that is when things can turn violent. The violence we are seeing across America are hurting so many innocent people. Fellow humans are being negatively affected by these acts of violence that I hope you ALL are praying its ends! We don’t want that in Middletown. We want people from all walks of life, from all neighborhoods, from all races (regardless of their color or beliefs) to come together and make this community great. What I see right now, in my opinion, is that the peaceful marchers and the hurt citizens who are protesting… they want to be heard, they want a voice and want to see steps taken from the injustices they feel are real, they know are real. They want to see this now. And God Bless them. And for the ones who are protecting their rights (brother and sister officers like our officers on Saturday night) we want peace and resolution as well, we want to allow these hurt fellow humans to see that we know they are hurt… our eyes are open and our ears are ready to listen. We want to allow for peaceful protections of these citizens and we want the participants in the demonstrations and rallies to know that we know they are hurt. We want to allow them a true sense of security and we want all groups of people (young and old, black, white, brown or red) to realize, and truly believe, that we do this job for them, our public, (like our plaque reads) with the dignity and honor that ALL citizens deserve. God Bless you all. We are committed to that whether it is hard for portions of the public to see right now, or not. Now for the actions of others who have turned to violence… I hope and pray that all of us agree to denounce those actions. The violent images on TV are disturbing to watch and are just plain and simple wrong. The hurt and the anger have turned to hatred and violence. Understandably we realize the violence is (to some people) their way to be heard, yet it is causing harm and heartache for all Americans… in all neighborhoods… familiar to them or not! There are no winners in the violence and this need to subside. This is where you come in… regardless of what side of the flag debate you may sit… as fellow Americans and fellow Humans, we need to come together to the table to work these issues out. Middletown has a tremendous amount of good souls who I know agree. The George Floyd event in Minneapolis has caused rage, fear, hatred and heartache… as it should. I pray for all people who were affected by this blatant disregard for George Floyd’s human life. So I pray for everyone. And it is the prayers right now that may be needed most. I ask that during this tense time, open your heart and be willing to listen, relate, try hard to understand the beliefs and perceptions of others which may be far apart, yet by my research are very true.

So, to the upset supporters of the flags that serve as a sign of support for you or your loved ones, (including our dedicated and truly committed men and women of this Middletown Police Dept. and beyond) my heart is with you because it feels like I took down a piece of our Pride and Honor because we stand by the words on the plaque and its original and true definition. For decades we wore it with honor to be able to stop chaos and taking pride in protecting people and fighting crime. We need the public and the public needs us. This step was to reach our hand out in a very tough time.

To those of you who have unfortunately seen our flag represent something other than our true meaning… I heard you… I spoke to you and we responded. This was difficult. It was difficult to take it down because of our strong beliefs that it means something good, something great. And at the same time it was difficult to hear what you saw or felt when you looked up at it. Believe me, that is not the MPD true meaning. I hope you see this decision as taking the first step towards showing unity between the Police and Public and allow you to begin the healing process from some of the deepened wounds that you have been carrying around with you.

I appreciate those who are upset because of their burning desire to pay tribute to those fighting crime. In Middletown, the mission statement reads… ​“To proudly serve in partnership with the community through a commitment to excellence, professionalism and integrity.” Those with the true meaning in their hearts, including myself, are hurt to see the flag drop. Serving the community is mentioned in the mission statement and in the plaque. We are proud to serve the public.

Also, I appreciate those on the other side of the debate. Many have sent letters and emails of thanks to us. They all mention that they appreciate our decision to recognize how some view the meaning differently and feel it is offensive. I am saddened by that, yet because I spoke to people in our community, I do believe it. I see it both ways and appreciate the value on both sides.

If you feel the need to sign a petition, or a counter-petition that is your right. If you feel the need to march for, or against, a purpose that is your right. I ask that if/when you do participate in an event… you do so peacefully and with caution. Our MPD goal is to allow you your right to participate in peaceful protests and ask that you remain peaceful until the last person departs. Violence can’t be an option here.

I feel this was the right decision at the right time in our country. I really hope all of you see that. Let’s move ahead Middletown.

May God Bless all of you!