Blue Lives Matter
The Thin Blue Line flag is a white, black, and blue derivative of the American flag.
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| Formation | December 20, 2014 New York City, New York, U.S. |
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| Founders | Active and retired law enforcement officers |
| Type | Social movement |
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| Website | bluelivesmatter |
Blue Lives Matter is a countermovement in response to Black Lives Matter in the United States. It was started after the killings of NYPD officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu in Brooklyn, New York, on December 20, 2014, after they were ambushed in their patrol car. Blue Lives Matter was formed in reaction to the Black Lives Matter movement, which seeks to end police brutality against the African American community.
Although criticized by the ACLU and others, it paved the way for a state law in Louisiana which makes it hate crime to target police officers or firefighters. However, this law has been heavily criticized because hate crime typically refer to crimes committed against people for their membership in a certain social group such as race, sexual orientation, or gender identity and because evidence suggests violence against police officers is decreasing.
On December 20, 2014, in the wake of the killings of officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu, a group of law enforcement officers formed Blue Lives Matter to counter media reports that they perceived to be anti-police. Blue Lives Matter is made up of active and retired law enforcement officers. The current national spokesman for Blue Lives Matter is retired Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Lieutenant Randy Sutton.
Originating in New York City in December 2014, Blue Lives Matter NYC is an organization and current nationwide movement that was created to help law enforcement officers and their families during their times of need. Sergeant Joey Imperatrice along with Officers Chris Brinkley and Carlos Delgado felt "compelled to show support for their brothers and sisters in blue" and handed out bracelets that stated Blue Lives Matter. They decided to create an organization which became the non-profit Blue Lives Matter NYC. This BLM organization's mission is to raise awareness and encourage public aid for the needs of police officers, to help police officers assist one another, and to provide a police officer's family with comfort and support as they go through hard times. This campaign is designed to raise both awareness and money for the families in need. In order to increase awareness nationwide, over three hundred billboards have been posted with the slogan "Blue Lives Matter". Many of these billboards are also accompanied by the hashtag #thankublu, a hashtag many individuals use to show their support for police officers.
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