Anger Over Skinny Blue Line Flag Flying at Station of Cop Who Shot 20 12 months Previous Daunte Wright: ‘You Cannot Reform This’

A police officer in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota shot and killed 20-year-old Daunte Wright on Sunday afternoon. Police Chief Tim Gannon told reporters and local activists Monday afternoon that the officer was about to fire her taser, calling it an “accidental discharge” of her gun.

The Brooklyn Center Police Station displays a thin blue flag. This flag has numerous connotations, but is intended to show relentless loyalty and solidarity to the police – not to the citizens, whose service and protection they have sworn.

Minnesota Star Tribune reporter Andy Mannix posted a short clip of the flag flying.

Central Brooklyn Police are just showing a blue flag in front of the train station. Pic.twitter.com/07i9IezVNP

– Andy Mannix (@AndrewMannix) April 12, 2021

There are two versions of the thin blue line flag, a black one with a blue line and an American flag with a thin blue line.

The Marshall Project published “The Brief Broken History of the American Flag with the Thin Blue Line,” saying the “controversial version of the US flag has been hailed as a sign of police solidarity and criticized as a symbol of white supremacy.” It is unclear whether the thin blue line flag with black background falls into this category, although the biggest seller of thin blue line flags has a version that is the black background with a blue stripe.

It is unknown how long this flag has been flying, but it does appear in an undated Google Streetview photo.

Here’s how some react to the thin blue line blowing in Brooklyn Center:

It is hard to believe that a profession that carries the message, “Our life is more important than yours” under its own flag, routinely kills innocent people and opposes any reforms that might address it. https://t.co/m3afi1KVOF

– Greg (@waltisfrozen) April 12, 2021

again: your black friends are traumatized. You are currently physically reacting to what is happening and the shitty messages that are being sent to us and the world like this one. https://t.co/KFHx4FtPZI

– tracy the business goose (@brokeymcpoverty) April 12, 2021

The police applaud their brutality. You are proud of yourself. https://t.co/PtZFBYWsXs

– Keeanga-Yamahtta T. (@KeeangaYamahtta) April 12, 2021

You can’t fix this with de-escalation training or anything else. Abolition is the only way. https://t.co/B1LJCcDbq8

– Heather Alexandra (@transgamerthink) April 12, 2021

You know armed groups that fly their own unofficial flags do not look good for any country. It is usually a fundamental challenge to the legitimacy of the state. https://t.co/kXxjFD1lVF

– Wilson Dizard (@willdizard) April 12, 2021

You cannot reform this ish https://t.co/0HTnbLtdEj

– 🖤 Snappy Black Womxn 🖤 (@TheWayWithAnoa) April 12, 2021

I see that they have dispensed with the “Variation of the US flag” version and have completely included “Welcome to Copland” https://t.co/7ukILzg4L2

– Hank Oslo (@xctlot) April 12, 2021

No shame In fact, the opposite is true. Proud as he stands over a 20 year old who was murdered by his hand. https://t.co/JCUYdeDwC6

– Dave Zirin (@EdgeofSports) April 12, 2021

Terrorism. And they know.

– That Lisa. No the other one. (@that_lisa) April 12, 2021

“We killed a father and we will get away with it and we are proud of it and we will tell you how proud we are of it” https://t.co/nV8Mk8zGxz

– Talia Lavin (@chick_in_kiev) April 12, 2021

You have to be kidding me. https://t.co/t4LjMl2xtX

– Ashley Fairbanks (@ziibiing) April 12, 2021

This is a threat. https://t.co/WQFZwJ3Xmq

– Marisa Kabas (@MarisaKabas) April 12, 2021

“We’re sorry we boobooed and shot someone while escalating a traffic obstruction into violence, but to be very clear, we are the harmed party on this matter.” https://t.co/ZpoQQeMb7P

– Charles Louis Richter (@richterscale) April 12, 2021

Absolutely, positively fuck that shit.

– Strider … (badebaajimod) April 12, 2021

You’ll ever notice that this “thin blue line” gets wider every time a new flag or logo is created

You just can’t stop telling yourself https://t.co/2XvRxY2mwJ

– @ (@makokaazo) April 12, 2021