Hingham Firefighters Remove 'Thin Blue Line' Flags From Trucks

HINGHAM, MA — The "Thin Blue Line" flags that have been the center of a dispute between members of the Hingham firefighters union and town officials for the past week were removed from fire apparatus Thursday morning.

Hingham Firefighters Local 2398 said its members joined with Weymouth police officers, Weymouth firefighters and other first responders and removed the flags that the union said were a tribute to late Weymouth Sgt. Michael Chesna on the two-year anniversary of his in-the-line-of-duty shooting death last week.

"We were aware of an impending order to remove the flags from the apparatus that would be given to members on duty," the union posted on its Facebook page Thursday. "We did not want to risk the chance of having these flags removed from the trucks in a disrespectful manner. The decision was made to remove the flags on our own terms to provide the highest level of respect that they deserve."

The statement said the flags were bought to Weymouth Police Headquarters "where they will continue to fly with honor."

The Hingham Board of Selectmen said the flags should be removed from the apparatus last week following a complaint from a member of the community that they violate the town's flag policy. According to the Board of Selectmen, only a handful of select flags are allowed to be displayed on town property, and cited the recent refusal to allow a "Rainbow" LGBTQ+ pride flag to be displayed as a precedent for the directive to have the "Thin Blue Line" flags removed.

The firefighters union said on Friday that, while it disagreed with the decision, it would abide by the directive. Over the weekend, however, the union reversed course and asked that the directive be rescinded.

"At this time the Hingham Firefighters of Local 2398 respectfully request the town reconsider their decision to deem these flags as political statements," Local 2398 President Lt. Chris Melanson said in a statement on Monday. "Otherwise, we regret to inform you that over the past four days no member of Local 2398 was able to sacrifice his or her moral fortitude in order to remove the flags from the apparatus. As we said before, our support for our brothers and sisters in blue is unwavering. The flags have continued to fly with honor every day. They will have to be removed by someone other than a member of this union."

The Hingham Board of Selectmen responded on Wednesday, saying that while the members have great "respect" and "appreciation" for all public safety workers and first responders, they wanted to remain consistent with town policy.

The Board of Selectmen also asked that the "ceaseless and vicious" harassment of the person filing the complaint be stopped.

"In the last week he has received numerous threats against his property and his life," the Board of Selectmen statement said. "The harassment is ceaseless and vicious. And it has recently expanded to target the welfare and safety of his family. Such conduct debases any attempt at public discourse and makes hypocrites of those who would call for respect for public safety officers while simultaneously threatening the safety of others.

"When petitioning the Board of Selectmen leads to name calling, character assassination, intimidation and threats of physical violence, this only serves to deface all flags that we might choose to display in honor of our peace officers."

The union said it was thankful for the support from Hingham residents, and those from surrounding communities, throughout the flag fight.

"The members of Local 2398 are profoundly appreciative of the support we received," the union said. "We would also like to extend our sincere gratitude to the members of the Weymouth Police Patrolmen's Union for assisting us with the respectful removal of the flags.

"We will continue or unwavering support for our brothers and sisters in law enforcement and our first responders everywhere."

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