Germantown community responds to Blue Lives Matter

GERMANTOWN, Md - Within recent years, there have been rising tensions between certain racial groups and law enforcement in the United States.

In the summer of 2013, George Zimmerman, a white man who fatally shot a young black boy named Trayvon Martin in Florida, was acquitted for the death. This sparked the Black Lives Matter movement.

In 2014, Blue Lives Matter was created in response to the Black Lives Matter movement and the death of two New York City police officers. The Blue Lives Matter flag is represented by an American flag, with a thin blue strip in the center of it.

Some people see this flag as controversial because of the high rate of people who are killed by law enforcement each year.

As of Dec. 5, there have been 850 people who have been shot and killed by police in 2019, according to the Washington Post. And as of Oct. 1, 30 police officers have been shot and killed while in the line of duty in 2019, according to CNN.

On Oct. 30, the Montgomery County Police Department posted a photo to their Twitter, of James Shelton, of Germantown, his son, three officers and a wooden Thin Blue Line or Blue Lives Matter flag. The tweet explained that Shelton gifted the 5th district station the flag for national first responder’s day and that it would be on display in the station.

This tweet created controversy and some responses to the tweet voiced concerns that many Americans have, as well as some support for law enforcement.

• “The Blue Lives Matter flag & movement were created in response to the Black Lives Matter mvmt. The primary purpose isn’t to honor cops; it’s to demean & diminish the Black Lives Matter mvmt—illogically, as being a cop is a choice and being Black is not. It’s racist. Take it down.” -@KristinMinkDC
• “This flag, the symbol of “Blue Lives Matter,” excuses police violence against black residents, and mocks those who affirm that #BlackLivesMatter. That is not what @MontgomeryCoMD stands for. Take down this tweet, and do not hang up this flag! @DavidMoon2014 @JheanelleW @mbsocol” - @Jo_GNDC
• “I deeply respect our police and am thankful for their work, keeping us safe. This flag, however, is a known hate symbol and scares me. Please see Wikipedia and the Blue Live Matter website if you doubt this. I look forward to seeing this situation rectified ASAP.” -@davidchoy
• “Being blue is a choice. #blm” - @Warbucks65

Following the storm of scolding tweets, local legislatures got involved.

"The flag provides a symbol of support to some but it is a symbol of dismissiveness to others. Because it is divisive, the flag will not be posted at the 5th District nor in any public space within the Police Department," County Executive Marc Elrich said.

Just days after Elrich announced that the wooden flag would not be displayed, Gov. Larry Hogan responded on Twitter.

“We are proud to hang these Thin Blue Line flags in the Government House to honor our brave law enforcement officers,” Hogan tweeted. “A local elected official prohibiting police from displaying a flag given to them by a grateful child is disgraceful.”

Hogan accompanied his tweet with photos of him posing with American flags with thin blue lines in them.

Following Hogan’s tweet, Brothers Before Others Ind., a certified law enforcement support charity, took action.

The organization said in a statement that Elrich’s call for the flag to not be displayed at the station, “provoked a critical response from anti-police activists who attempted to incorrectly portray the origins and meaning of the flag.”

Nov. 8, Brothers Before Others gathered in front of the 5th district police station to hand out Blue Lives Matter flags and to show support for law enforcement.

“This decision is not final as I requested that we take a pause due to those who distorted the purpose of the flag to be a Blue Lives Matter issue versus a Black Lives Matter issue. This is far from the purpose of why the flag was gifted and presented to the 5th District Station,”

Montgomery County Police Chief Marcus Jones said in a letter to officers in effort to bring peace to the situation.

Within recent years, Montgomery County has seen questionable actions from some of its officers, which could be the cause for the concern some residents have related to the police.

In June 2018, a 41-year-old black man was fatally shot during an interaction with an officer.

The officer was later cleared of any wrong doing in the incident.

In May, a female officer was recorded using the N-word while interacting with four Black men outside of a McDonalds restaurant.

In July, Montgomery County Officer Kevin Moris, 31, was charged with second degree assault and misconduct in office for what some say was use of excessive force during the apprehension of a suspect.

The disturbing and occasionally deadly, interactions between residents and officers in the county seem to be localized in the lower region of the county, in the Silver Spring area, which is roughly 30 minutes south of Germantown.

Despite these incidents not happening within the 5th districts jurisdiction, local residents have strong views on the department and Blue Lives Matter.

“I think it’s racist,” Martha Jackson, 44, said when asked about the flag being displayed at the local police station. She added that she knows of the police pulling over people for “no reason.”

“I think Blue Lives Matter is a total f--- you to Black Lives Matter,” Elizabeth Herbert, 22, said.

But, not all Germantown residents feel negatively about the flag being displayed.

“We should give them a chance,” James Gause, 54, said. “Maybe they’re trying to change.”

Gause added that he believed the department might be trying to change its regime and the stereotype of bad police, especially now because the police chief is black.

Jones was confirmed as chief Nov. 5, after being nominated by Elrich in September.

As the nation seems to be increasingly divided on the topic of law enforcement, Germantown is not an exception.