The union, the Fraternal Order of Police, has already convinced Walmart to remove the shirt. As of yesterday the shirt was still showing up on Amazon. However, the listing did mention the merchandise was unavailable.
Chuck Canterbury, the president of the union, said he didn’t expect Amazon to pull the shirt anytime soon. He described Amazon as being a liberal marketer. He said the rhetoric of the shirt has inspired violence against those in the law enforcement community.
Letter from National President Canterbury to Amazon Chairman and CEO regarding third party sellers of BLM gear on the company website
Posted by National Fraternal Order of Police on Wednesday, December 21, 2016
Canterbury got in touch with the CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, and urged him to support the union in strengthening the bonds of trust between law enforcement and the communities that they serve and protect.
The union’s president added that this was an important issue because of the violence demonstrated at Black Lives Matter protests. He mentioned that eight police officers were killed while protecting protests. He referenced two separate shooting incidents, with one being in Dallas and the other being in Baton Rouge. Neither shooter was associated with Black Lives Matter, but Canterbury said the group’s rhetoric had inspired people to launch attacks on police officers.
Canterbury said that the police union would continue to urge retailers who sell Black Lives Matter merchandise to stop. He said the group wants to make it clear that it doesn’t approve of anti-police violence.
