Calls for Winnipeg police board chair to step down over use of 'thin blue line' image
A police abolitionist group is calling on a Winnipeg city councillor to apologize and step down as police board chair after using what some consider to be a divisive symbol in a tweet earlier this month.
In a tweet offering his condolences to the families of two Edmonton police officers killed in the line of duty, Coun. Markus Chambers included an image of a 'thin blue line' patch. An hour later, Chambers changed the picture to that of an Edmonton Police Service badge.
A tweet from Winnipeg Police Board Chair Markus Chambers on March 16, 2023, including an image of a Thin Blue Line patch (left) was replaced an hour later with the picture of an Edmonton Police Service badge (right). (Source: Winnipeg Police Cause Harm)
“The image that was selected, I didn’t want that to become the story,” Chambers told CTV News on Monday. “I wanted the expression of condolences to the families, to the community to be the story.”
However, abolitionist group Winnipeg Police Cause Harm (WPCH) says the 'thin blue line' is a divisive and problematic symbol.
“[It] really exemplifies police hostility to the public and demonstrates the ‘us versus them’ narrative, which we think is really harmful,” WPCH member James Wilt told CTV News.
Wilt said 'thin blue l'ine imagery started gaining popularity around 2015.
“There was a lot of resistance to police violence in the U.S. with the emergence of Black Lives Matter,” Wilt explained. “And so, with the rise of the counter-narrative to that, the pro-police narrative Blue Lives Matter.”
Kevin Walby, an associate professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Winnipeg, said the image has since been co-opted by hate groups.
“I think it’s really important to denounce this, the use of this symbol, which is so clearly indexed to hate,” Walby told CTV News. “And whether or not the councillor knows that, whether or not the city council knows that, it’s very clear. It cannot be disputed at this point."
Chambers said that wasn’t his intention when he embedded the 'thin blue line' image in his tweet,
“There are still those who sincerely believe that the intent of it was to memorialize fallen officers. That’s the perspective I used it under,” Chambers said.
However, WPCH members want Chambers to be held accountable.
“We would like to see an apology, a denouncing of the symbol, and also Councillor Chambers step down as chair of the police board,” Wilt said.
Wilt said the police board should only act an intermediary between the public and police.
“If he’s explicitly taking these very harmful pro-police stances, [the board] is not really doing that duty,” Wilt said.
“I’m not going to apologize,” Chambers told CTV News. “Again, this is a story about the two fallen officers, not the interest of these individuals who are co-opting this message. The loss of these two officers actively trying to serve and protect our community."
'Thin blue line' imagery has been denounced by law-enforcement agencies throughout Canada and the U.S., including the RCMP.
The Winnipeg Police Service did not respond to a request for comment on its policy.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.
Government proposes new policy for federally regulated employees to disconnect from work
In their 2024 budget, the federal government wants to amend the Canada Labour Code, so employers in federally regulated sectors will eliminate work-related communication with employees outside of scheduled hours. If implemented, this would affect roughly 500,000 employees across the country.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.