Firefighters in Hingham, Massachusetts were ordered to remove a “Thin Blue Line” flag from fire trucks after a citizen complained.
The flag had been posted on fire trucks in honor of police officer Michael Chesna who was killed in the line of duty in July 2018.
Chesna was hit with a rock. His murderer grabbed his service revolver and fired 10 shots into the stricken officer.
The Hingham Firefighters Local 2398 flew the flags on the anniversary of the officer’s death.
“At NO TIME, was this meant to be a political statement in any way. Nor was it an attempt to show support for, or against, any specific political party or advocacy group,” the union wrote on its Facebook page.
Town leaders say the pro-police flag violated a town policy that prohibits displaying political messages on town property.
A flag honoring fallen police officers is considered a political message?
Cindy Chesna, the police officer’s widow, said she considered the town’s decision as a personal attack.
“Two years later, I am witnessing the complete opposite from a lot of the people who looked me straight in the eyes at (Mike’s) wake and promised to always be there for me, offering anything they could do,” Cindy Chesna wrote on Facebook. “Now, those same politicians are showing the utmost disrespect to our officers with this reform bill and even a certain town (with the agreement of both the fire chief and police chief) are disrespecting our officers by demanding that the thin blue line flag be removed from their fire trucks.”
As many as 100 citizens turned out for a town meeting to defend the flag, but anti-police forces won the day.
“The voices of support have far outweighed the voices of opposition. It is abundantly clear the vast majority of people support the thin blue line for exactly what it represents,” the union wrote.