Despite an order from the Calgary Police Commission, the Calgary Police Association President believes officers will continue wearing the ‘Thin Blue Line’ police logo.

“There will be resistance to removing this patch. It’s an important symbol… There’s very strong support for this symbol,” CPA president John Orr explains.

“We don’t feel a redesign in conjunction with the CPA can happen right now without completely losing [the patch’s] meaning,” he said. “There’s not enough trust in this relationship.”

He further stated that any extremist groups who wear the thin blue line don’t represent officers choosing to still don the patch.

However, Calgary Police Commission Chair Shawn Cornett says that the thin blue line is viewed as connected to racism and has to go; though, he finds the symbol personally meaningful and knows other officers feel the same.

“People in our community have clearly expressed that the thin blue line patch on police officers makes them uncomfortable due to its history and current use by groups opposing racial equity,” commission chair Shawn Cornett said in a statement.

“… Even when police officers wearing the patch are not meaning to support racist views, the connection to recent events and the visually divisive image of the symbol has an impact on people of colour and others who are not sure which of the many different meanings an officer is trying to express.”

Orr claims these are misinterpretations. He says the logo represents solidarity between fellow officers and respect for those who’ve fallen. 

Indeed, the thin blue line has long been used a symbol of police solidarity and honour. It was used as a symbol during both the BLM riots of 2020 and when showing support for five officers who were ruthlessly gunned down in Dallas in 2015. Neither instance was a racially motivated display.