Bromont removes ‘thin blue line’ logo from police uniforms and cars

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The City of Bromont is removing the controversial “thin blue line” symbols that for years its officers have been sporting on uniforms and patrol cars.

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Major Louis Villeneuve said Friday the Bromont police service adopted the symbol to commemorate one of its officers, Vincent Roy, who was hit by a truck while on the job in 2011. But the city wants no part in being associated with any of the negative connotations the slogan has taken on.

“When you look at the origin of the symbol, it’s a positive symbol — until the American right used it,” Villeneuve said. “It’s the chief of police who said, ‘I think we need to remove this.’ Because we don’t want to have controversy, and we definitely don’t want, in Bromont, for our police to be associated with the extreme right.”

Villeneuve pointed out that the symbol, which depicts a thin blue line through a black and white Canadian flag (an American flag in the US), has been associated with the “Blue Lives Matter” movement, which emerged to counter Black Lives Matter.

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“It’s a symbol that was appropriated by the extreme right,” he said.

The decision to remove the imagery in Bromont comes after the City of Montreal expressed concern over its use by its police officers, who were photographed wearing it at a recent Montreal protest in support of the so-called “Freedom Convoy.”

A spokesperson for the city’s executive committee told the Montreal Gazette the police force is currently reviewing its policy on uniforms.

“An ethics committee is looking specifically at this issue,” said Marikym Gaudreault. “It is important that the entire population can have confidence in its police service.”

Citizens have expressed concern about the use of the symbol in Montreal, saying it calls the force’s neutrality into question. Bromont, for its part, didn’t receive any complaints, but a citizen did ask questions about it, Villeneuve said.

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“We follow the news; we saw what was happening in Montreal with Mayor (Valérie) Plante,” he said. “In the moment I didn’t understand what she meant, but after reading the article, I understood. Because here, honestly, it was something extremely positive.”

Villeneuve said the removal of the symbol will be carried out quickly.

“We absolutely do not want Bromont police to be associated with the extreme right in any way,” he said.