‘Blue line’ flag stirs controversy in Sonoma

The American flag flying outside of Jeff Spencer’s H&R Block office on Sonoma Highway has 13 stripes and 50 stars, and looks, at a glance, like a regular flag. But closer examination reveals that the flag has been altered: a thin blue line bracketed in black runs down the middle, bisecting the traditional red and white stripes.

The flag represents a movement known as “Blue Lives Matter,” which advocates that criminals convicted of killing police officers should be sentenced under enhanced hate crime statutes, allowing judges to tack additional penalties onto their pre-established sentencing guidelines.

Founded in 2014 following the ambush shootings of two NYPD street cops, ”Blue Lives Matter” was a kind of rebuttal to perceived anti-police sentiment in the wake of the “Black Lives Matter” movement, which grew following a string of acquittals of police officers charged in the killings of non-threatening African American men. The “thin blue line” flag has since become the symbol of a countermovement.

Inside the entrance to Spencer’s office, an explanatory paragraph is displayed behind glass, suggesting that more than a few people have asked about the flag. It reads: “The Thin Blue Line is a symbol used to recognize Law Enforcement Officers for keeping the peace. One Black bar below represents the criminal element in society. One black bar above symbolizes the innocent public. What stands in the middle is only a thin blue line of committed Law Enforcement Officers. This powerful image can be proudly displayed to remember fallen heroes and honor those that sacrifice every day.”

A dwindling stack of complimentary peel-and-stick bumper stickers of the altered flag sits below, and have been seen affixed to the rear windows of cars around town.

“I support law enforcement,” Spencer said. “They’re the ones who protect us. They have a lousy job. You’re dealing with pretty rotten people throughout the day. The “Black Lives Matter” movement, they had an important issue, sure. But basically, what it comes down to is all lives matter. This (flag) is 100 percent about support for law enforcement.”

Spencer has always been fascinated by police work. He was a Young Explorer in the Daly City police department as a kid, and had dreams of eventually working for the FBI. But poor eyesight made that goal unreachable, and so Spencer became an accountant instead. He owns the Sonoma H&R Block franchise, and is a “silent partner” in the local restaurant and music venue Reel & Brand.

Spencer’s son is a correctional officer in Trinity County. His office manager’s brother is a detective in Rohnert Park. And he was very close friends with Marin County Sheriff’s deputy Jim Mathiesen, who was shot and killed after confronting a violent parolee in Petaluma while off duty in 2011.

“We’ve had CHP officers come in and thank us for flying that flag. And all kinds of first responders during the fires. We had a K-9 officer stop by and thank us. He told us, ‘I love that flag,’” Spencer said. “So that’s my motivation, you know. There’s nothing political about it.”

Nevertheless, the blue line flag has been politicized, co-opted by the alt-right movement. It was carried by protesters at the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and is considered by some to be a symbol of white supremacy.

For others it is a dismissal of the social issues Black Lives Matter is meant to address.

For Kelly Cole, the symbolism matters. Cole is an “equity trainer supervisor” with Epoch, a company that works to disrupt the “school to prison pipeline” that she believes entrenched social mores perpetuate for kids of color.

“When we throw one symbol back at another, we’re not doing the work of accountability,” Cole said. “Is the flag racist? I don’t know. But it doesn’t serve anyone to detour from the conversation. Instead of honestly assessing behaviors that triggered ‘Black Lives Matter,’ the response was to galvanize around ‘blue.’”

Cole’s late father was a cop, and she said she couldn’t be sure how he’d feel about the movement or its flag. But Sonoma police chief Orlando Rodriguez is a fan. He flies a blue line flag in his office, too, and shares Spencer’s feeling about the flag’s purpose. “As officers, this is our torch, to pay tribute and to never forget those who lost everything in the line of duty,” Rodriguez said. “It’s a symbol of the everyday dangers we face, not knowing if today will be my last day when I leave my family to serve our community.”

The fact that the flag has been carried by white nationalists was news to Rodriguez, and a concern. “It’s unfortunate that this group chose this flag. It’s disrespectful,” Rodriguez said. “But we live in a country where people have freedom to choose.”

Spencer is similarly peeved about the flag’s appropriation by the alt-right, but says he would not lower it to accommodate those who might find it offensive. “I would apologize to them, but I would still fly it because I support law enforcement,” he said.

The thin blue line flag has increasingly come under legal scrutiny, however.

In York, Maine, last summer, the family of a fallen officer who had raised the flag on a nearby utility pole were forced to remove it after another resident complained, arguing that the flag represented “segregation and discrimination,” according to News Center Maine.

And in Multnomah County, Oregon, last spring, an African-American county employee was awarded $100,000 for “extreme stress and health issues” that were triggered by the display of the flag in her office. The suit, brought by Karima Guion-Pledgure, argued that the flag co-opted the Black Lives Matter movement, thereby “denigrating, diluting, and demeaning” its purpose.

Spencer’s placid demeanor suggests a temperament not prone to conflict, and he did make an exception for a Vietnam veteran who stormed into his office a few weeks ago. The man complained that the version of the flag Spencer had been flying-all black and white-was an affront to ex-military who had fought for the red, white and blue. “He was incensed, and told me ‘you took the blood out of my flag!’” Spencer said.

So Spencer scoured the internet in search of a version of the flag that retained Old Glory’s original red stripes, and now he raises and lowers that flag each day.

As to whether he is concerned that potential patrons of his H&R Block office might be affronted by his display of the thin blue line flag? “Well, it’s a risk for a business owner, yes. But I’d happily sacrifice business if it comes to that. Police officers sacrifice a whole lot more than business,” Spencer said. “This flag just represents what I believe.”

Contact Kate at kate.williams@sonomanews.com.