After the Wethersfield Town Council voted not to fly the “thin blue line” flag this week for the funeral of TFC Aaron Pelletier, one family is taking matters into their own hands.
The family of late Hartford Police Det. Bobby Garten has created lawn signs that say ‘We support police officers’ and are distributing them to people in the community and across the state.
The town council rejected a proposal to fly the flag on Wednesday, the day of the fallen trooper’s funeral, citing the town’s flag policy, which requires a request be made 30 days in advance.
Matthew Forrest, deputy mayor of Wethersfield, was among the no votes. He read the Wikipedia definition of the flag during the meeting.
Get top local stories in Connecticut delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Connecticut's News Headlines newsletter.
“It says here it’s become emblematic of white nationalist, neo-Nazi, and alt right movements in the United States,” Forrest said.
Members of the public made their distaste known during public comment, calling the decision ‘awful’ and ‘embarrassing.’
"We've always wanted to make a more generic police support sign, and we thought this would be the perfect time,” said Kimber Garten, sister-in-law of Det. Bobby Garten. "There's been a lot of unfortunate events lately, and I think it's important for the Pelletier family, and our local and state law enforcement to know that we're here for them, we support them.”
Local
Friday, the signs were delivered, and there was a steady stream of people picking theirs up.
"We wanted to create something more evergreen for police officers that they can see all the time when they're out on their shift. There are countless police officers that have come up to me, my family and said thank you for the support. We love seeing the blue lights. We love seeing the flag with the blue stripes in it,” said William Garten, Bobby’s brother.
The Gartens say, to them, the flag stands for supporting the police.
"When we see the blue line shirts of flags, it stands for respect for the police, it stands for the fallen officers, and it just supports them and makes them feel good,” Garten said. “The blue line means support for the police and nothing else.”
They said they’ll continue to show their support for law enforcement officers, and families like theirs, dealing with unimaginable grief.
"At the end of the day, we are here to support people who risk their lives every day for us, just stepping out of their house. They don't ask for that, they just wanna do what's best for us and make sure we have a safe community,” Kimber Garten added. “It's those small little gestures that show we're here."
The Gartens said an anonymous donor fronted the cost of the signs, so they’re free of charge. They’re so popular, they said, that they may need to order more.
