BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Men and women in neighborhoods across the country, including right here in Alabama, are leaving their mark to let law enforcement officers know they’ve got back up.
While anti-cop sentiment has incited a rash of murderous incidents, a Texan has developed the “Safe Harbor Initiative,” using the “thin blue line” as a signal to community police officers.
In a post on Facebook, small business owner Anthony Welichko explained what officers could expect when they see a thin blue stripe on the curb in a neighborhood.
The stripes have started popping up in Alabama, as well, among other efforts to show support for LEOs, such as the Props to Cops campaign conducted in May by Crawford Broadcasting in Birmingham.
“I wanted to use the power of our medium and the quickest way to do that was to basically say, ‘We’ll give away our product if you’ll give away yours.’ So we give air time to businesses who support police by giving them discounts,” said Leland Whaley, who also hosts “Leland Live” on Superstation WYDE. “The response has been overwhelming. We’ve had car dealers, junk haulers, a linen cleaning service — you name it. There are so many people out there who have been frustrated with how our police officers are being treated, they just didn’t know what to do. We’re using the power of radio to channel the goodwill that is already out there.”
“I got fired up about this because I was watching the news and realized this war on police is not about justice, it’s about politics,” he continued. “It’s wrong for our justice system to be abused like this. Police have to get up every day, put on a badge and risk their lives. There’s such a hostile environment right now and they’re being targeted by political opportunists. It’s time to defend our defenders and show appreciation to our police.”
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— Elizabeth BeShears (@LizEBeesh) January 21, 2015
