LAPD chief went 'woke on us big time,' pandered to far left in Thin Blue Line flag debate: Caitlyn Jenner
LAPD banned the pro-police Thin Blue Line flag from public areas after receiving a complaint
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Former California gubernatorial candidate Caitlyn Jenner slammed the Los Angeles Police Department chief for going "woke" after the LAPD banned the display of the Thin Blue Line Flag over a complaint that it symbolized "extremist" views.
The LAPD announced that it was banning the Thin Blue Line flag, which represents fallen officers, from public areas within police departments last week after receiving a single complaint that the flag represented "violent, extremist views."
Jenner, a Fox News contributor, blamed LAPD Chief Michel Moore for the move, telling Fox News that it will further demoralize a police department already grappling with low morale.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}LAPD BANS THIN BLUE LINE FLAG OVER COMPLAINT IT REPRESENTS RACIST, BIGOTED VIEWS
Thing Blue Line flag before being masked. (Los Angeles Police Protective Union)
"Chief Michel Moore, he went woke on us big time, and it’s really hurting the morale out here in California," Jenner said Monday on "America Reports."
"He's trying to play his cards," Jenner added, accusing Moore, who is up for reappointment, of banning the flag to garner favor from the "very woke" LAPD board.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It’s typical. Here in California, which is the woke-est place out there, you cannot please everybody and I don’t know if the strategy is going to work for him," she said.
Moore defended the controversial move in an email sent to Fox News Digital, arguing that station lobbies should be places where citizens feel welcome and safe and "free of political ideology."
LAPD'S THIN BLUE LINE FLAG BAG SPURS OUTRAGE AMID RECRUITMENT STRUGGLES: ‘MORALE'S IN THE GUTTER'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}LAPD Chief Michael Moore banned the display of the Thin Blue Line Flag over a complaint that it symbolized "extremist" views. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
He ordered all flags with the symbol to be removed from public areas, but said he will allow officers to display the flag in "their workspace, locker door, or personal vehicle."
Critics have been quick to point out the potential impact the ban will have on current recruitment and retention struggles as crime surges. A union that represents more than 9,900 members of the LAPD said the move was met with "disgust and disappointment" from LAPD officers.
A Thin Blue Line flag waves during the Seattle Police Officers Guild's rally to stop defunding of the Seattle Police Department on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2020, at Seattle City Hall. (Noah Riffe/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
"It is difficult to express the level of utter disgust and disappointment with Chief Moore’s politically pandering directive to remove Thin Blue Line flags and memorials for fallen officers from all public areas within our police stations. This direction came as a result of complaints from anti-police, criminal apologists, and activists who hold too much sway over our city leaders and, unfortunately, our Chief," the Board of directors for the Los Angeles Police Protective League wrote in a statement.
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Jenner blamed the "woke media" in California for manufacturing controversy over the flag.
"That’s the woke media out here in California. They will decide what they want the flag to mean and not what it was meant to mean and that was to remember the fallen officers here in Los Angeles and LAPD. And they changed the narrative, that happens with everything," she said. "We see this all the time with the far left. They are trying to control the media."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News' Kristine Parks contributed to this report.