A Connecticut town is under fire after its town council voted against flying a flag featuring a thin blue line in memory of a fallen state trooper.
On the afternoon of May 30, Pvt. Aaron PelletierPelletier, 34, was conducting a routine traffic enforcement operation on eastbound I-84 in Southington, about 20 miles southwest of Hartford, when he was standing on the shoulder of the road speaking to a driver who had just pulled over when a pickup truck suddenly veered onto the shoulder, struck Pelletier’s patrol vehicle, then struck Pelletier and fled the scene.
“Our flag policy prohibits any hate-related conduct.”
Pelletier was pronounced dead at the scene. He was a nine-year police officer, husband and father of two. His police dog, Loso, was in the vehicle at the time of the crash but was not injured.
Pelletier’s funeral was scheduled for last Wednesday, but Rich Bailey, a Republican member of the Wethersfield, Connecticut, city council and the son of a former police officer, wanted the community to memorialize the fallen officer. So on Monday, two days before Pelletier’s funeral, Bailey proposed that the American flag’s blue line be flown at half-staff in Pelletier’s memory on Wednesday.
“At my home, [the flag] “The police protect us, they’re our first line of defense,” Bailey said. “They’re always here, they’re always there for us.”
His colleagues on the City Council disagreed, voting 5-3 against flying the police flag.
Democratic City Councilwoman Miki Dulick argued she voted against the measure not because she has any animosity toward police, but because city code requires 30 days’ notice before the flag can be flown.
“This policy is currently being tested. It’s not a perfect policy,” Duric said. “I think it’s something we should consider. If there’s an emergency or something like this, we can take a different approach. But right now that’s not the policy.”
Other Democrats on the council acknowledged they see the Thin Blue Line flag as a divisive symbol. Emily Zambrero He even claimed it represented “hatred.”
“This represents racism and hostility to a lot of people, and even if you don’t feel that way personally, if you fly it in your home and you think it means something to you, that’s a much more positive thing,” she argued. “It’s just that a lot of people don’t feel that way, and it’s inappropriate to fly it at our City Hall, especially since our flag policy prohibits hate-related acts.”
Even Democratic Mayor Ken Lesser suggested the police flag was being used by those with evil intentions. “The police flag is currently being used by white supremacist groups and other far-right groups,” Lesser argued. “Many police departments across the country, and even in Connecticut, have said they do not permit or use the police flag.”
As a compromise, some suggested flying a flag to honor all first responders, but Mayor Bailey vetoed the idea, Mayor Lesser claimed.
“All we’re doing is trying to honour the police officers who died,” Bailey argued.
A Pride ceremony scheduled for this week went ahead as planned but was scaled back in response to Pelletier’s death. The American flag, POW flag and Pride flag were all lowered to half-staff in his honor, according to the release. video Of the ceremony.
A suspect has been arrested in the crash that killed Pelletier. Alex Hoyola SanchezThe 44-year-old was charged with several felony charges, including second-degree vehicular manslaughter, evading responsibility resulting in death, driving while intoxicated and failure to stay in the proper lane. He is being held on $5 million bail.
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