This undated photo provided by the Laguna Beach Police Department shows their newly decorated Police SUV patrol vehicles in Laguna Beach, Calif. An American flag graphic on the side of freshly painted police cars is dividing a small coastal city in Southern California. Some people in Laguna Beach feel the flag design is too aggressive while others are astonished that anyone would object to the American flag, The Los Angeles Times reported Saturday, April 13, 2019. (Laguna Beach Police Department via AP)
Republished April 16, 2019 - 10:26 PM
Original Publication Date April 16, 2019 - 9:11 AM
LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. - The flag will continue to wave on police cars in a small Southern California coastal community, the City Council decided Tuesday night.
The Laguna Beach City Council voted Tuesday night to retain a new logo for its 11 police vehicles that uses stars and stripes running through the word "police" on the doors.
Some in the small, artsy coastal community thought the flashy red, white and blue decal was too aggressive and flashy while others were surprised that anyone would object to the American flag.
The council considered whether to keep the design or choose another.
Virtually everyone in the crowded council chamber raised their hand when asked if they supported the design and at one point the crowd sang "The Star-Spangled Banner."
Before the meeting, Mayor Pro Tem Steve Dicterow told the Los Angeles Times the council was simply facing "a very narrow decision" about the brightness of the colours, but that the issue had devolved into a broader national conversation about patriotism.
He said he has received hundreds of emails from people around the country, mostly in support of keeping the flag designs on the car.
The council agreed earlier this year to repaint its squad cars.
The proposed graphic the council approved in February was a more muted version of the design that now appears on the cars.
"Clearly, the way it looks on the car is not what anyone expected it to look like," Dicterow told the Times. "I think it's reasonable that we're going to look at it again so that whatever we (approve) is exactly what we put on the car."
News from © The Associated Press, 2019