After six years of displaying “thin blue line” flags honoring local fallen law enforcement officers, the city of Merriam’s annual Flags 4 Freedom event will display only U.S. flags moving forward.
Following an hours-long public comment period with all but one speaker outraged over the potential removal of the “thin blue line” flags, the Merriam City Council on Monday voted 6-2 to concur with the city’s Flags 4 Freedom planning committee to only fly the traditional Stars and Stripes during the annual week-long event, which occurs around the Fourth of July.
This comes as the city is also preparing to put on the event for the first time after nearly two decades of Flags 4 Freedom being run entirely by volunteers.
What is the “thin blue line” flag?
The “thin blue line” flag was created in 2014 by Andrew Jacob, a college student at the time who says he wanted to show support for police amid a nationwide convulsion of protests following the death of Michael Brown, an unarmed Black teenager who was killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri.
It’s a black-and-white American flag with one blue stripe, that has, since its creation by Jacob, continued to be displayed as a marker of solidarity with law enforcement but has also frequently been used as a symbol of opposition to the ongoing racial justice movement.
“Thin blue line” flags also frequently appear at conservative political events and rallies, including notably in 2020 for then-President Donald Trump.
Jacob, who now runs Thin Blue Line USA, a retailer of “thin blue line” flags and other paraphernalia, disavowed the use of the flags at the infamous 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, according to Politico.
According to Thin Blue Line USA’s website, “thin blue line” flags are meant to demonstrate “patriotism, compassion” and show “recognition for every American law enforcement officer.”
In Merriam, the decision to exclude “thin blue line” flags from the Flags 4 Freedom display came after Councilmember Jason Silvers expressed concern last year that the flag could be seen as problematic due to its different meanings for different groups of people. (Silvers, at the time last year, declined to elaborate to the Post on those comments.)
“I fully support the police, our Merriam officers, and I hold deep respect for those who have made the ultimate sacrifice,” Silvers told the Post.
What is Flags 4 Freedom?
- Since 2006, the city of Merriam has flown thousands of American flags in downtown and the surrounding area during the week of Independence Day.
- The event, now called Flags 4 Freedom, began as a way to locally remember the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
- In 2018, the event displayed five “thin blue line” flags, including two honoring Wyandotte County deputy sheriffs Patrick Rohrer and Theresa King, who were killed in the line of duty in June 2018.
- The volunteer group displayed a handful of other “thin blue line” flags honoring officers who have died in the line of duty since 2016, including Overland Park’s Officer Mike Mosher.
- The “thin blue line” flags are also flown at the city’s Turkey Creek Car Show event, according to the owner of the flags, John Freeman.
The issue arose after the city took over Flags 4 Freedom
- Last year, the volunteers that run Flags 4 Freedom asked the city to take over operations due to increasing disinterest in the planning and hosting of the event.
- During a joint volunteer committee and city council meeting, Silvers told the Post that he proposed taking Flags 4 Freedom back to its original purpose.
- He said he also recommended the city instead display the “thin blue line” flags in front of the police station to honor fallen officers.
- In April, the planning committee — consisting of volunteers, Councilmember Chris Evans Hands and Mayor Bob Pape — revisited the “thin blue line” flags topic that Silvers broached during that initial joint meeting.
- The planning committee this April voted 4-2 to recommend to the city council that the Flags 4 Freedom display only include the U.S. flag, according to city documents.
Crowd packed council chambers with crying family, friends
All but one of the more than two dozen speakers this week asked the city council to keep “thin blue line” flags in the display, describing what the flags mean to the families and how the flags show respect to fallen and current law enforcement officers.
Sarah Rohrer, the widow of Patrick Rohrer, told the city council that the flags are a symbol of courage and dedication — and each one flown at the Flags 4 Freedom event is embroidered with the name of an officer.
“You say this event was organized to be a healing field, and the first one in Kansas,” Sarah said. “When my kids and I go and sit under his flag, and I get to talk about their father, what is more healing than that? So, why remove the flags when they are serving the purpose they started for?”
Rohrer’s mother, daughter and son also spoke to the city council on Monday.
Johnson County Sheriff Calvin Hayden and former police chief and mayor Ken Sissom also spoke at Monday’s meeting, calling for the city to keep “thin blue line” flags in the display.
Former councilmember Scott Diebold told the city council on Monday that he previously said he’d be back when he saw something wrong, and asked the city council to “have the fortitude to do what’s right” and keep the “thin blue line” flags in the display.
John Freeman, a founding member of the Flags 4 Freedom event who owns the “thin blue line” flags, said “those flags will fly somewhere in this city.” The “thin blue line” flags are also flown at the city’s Turkey Creek Car Show, Freeman said, as he is a founding member of that event, as well.
“Those flags represent people in the state of Kansas who have given their life in law enforcement since 2016,” Freeman said. “Think hard and think long about it. There is a lot at stake here and a lot of events that are going to be turned upside down if you make the wrong choice.”
Council opts for U.S. flags only in 6-2 vote
- The city council opted to concur with the planning committee’s April decision to fly only U.S. flags at the Flags 4 Freedom event moving forward.
- Councilmembers Bruce Kaldahl and David Neal cast the dissenting votes.
- Neal said he changed his perspective on the “thin blue line” flags after hearing the crowd’s pleas to keep them as part of the event.
- Councilmember Evans Hands said she wanted to see the event return to its original purpose, and noted that the national flag is an official symbol.
Watch the entire Flags 4 Freedom discussion from May 13 in the embedded video below, starting at 26:13.
Next steps:
- Flags 4 Freedom is scheduled for June 29 to July 6 this year.
- For $15, yellow ribbons dedicated to and honoring someone can be purchased and placed on a flag during the event.
- The city council also asked city staff to look into a formal flag policy that addresses flags representing various groups being flown on city-owned properties.
More Local Government news: After a year of tumult, new city manager ready to help Shawnee ‘move forward’
