I would urge the City Council to revisit the matter of how our police vehicles are branded and, therefore, how our Police Department portrays itself to residents and visitors. There are many ways to embrace patriotic sentiment and national pride other than painting our police vehicles red, white, and blue. Authentic pride can mitigate the negative effects of hubristic pride if we are conscious of the power and privilege granted by our status. In my opinion, the optics are not good, and they have the potential to send the wrong message.
Randy Lewis, Laguna Beach
Maybe Randy Lewis would prefer the Mexican flag be painted on Lagoony Beach police cars…..
Would that be “the right message,” Randy?
Using the symbol of the USA on a police vehicle seems perfectly natural to me. The American flag is beautiful. It doesn’t matter about your politics, your race, your religion… if you are an American and you don’t love and respect our Nation’s logo, you are simply LOOKING for ways to be offended.