“Breathe Easy, Don’t Break the Law”
Following a nationwide wave of demonstrations demanding justice in the murders of several unarmed young black men, and following the assassination of two New York City police officers, police across the country are displaying the kind of behavior and attitudes that substantiates the concerns many have about police actions. In New York City, the head of the police union has all but declared open warfare against Mayor Bill de Blasio, encouraging members to turn their backs on the mayor during his public appearances.
At a recent Los Angeles charity event -- hosted by a retired police officer, and where at least half the attendees were also retired officers -- lyrics in a song to the tune of "Bad, Bad LeRoy Brown" (a video of which was obtained by TMZ -- http://www.tmz.com/...) referred to Michael Brown as "dead, dead Michael Brown" and "roadkill dog."
And, a few days before Christmas, an enterprising Indiana police officer named Jason Barthel, who is a 13-year veteran of the Mishawaka Police Department, and also is the owner of South Bend Uniform Co., has come up with a new t-shirt in support of his fellow police officers, and to make some dough. The t-shirt's message: “Breathe Easy, Don’t Break the Law.”
According to The Heritage Foundation's Philip Wegmann, Barthel came up with the idea for the t-shirt because the wearing of "I Can't Breathe" t-shirts by some sports figures and demonstrators across the country seemed to him "as if there were a lot of people thumbing their nose at the police,” Barthel told The Daily Signal that he fashioned his own T-shirts as “a retort to the ‘I Can’t Breathe’ movement.”
“Up until that point, nobody from our side of the world—the police world—had really said anything on our behalf,” Barthel said.
He told The Daily Signal that “From the perspective of a policeman,” the t-shirt says that “we’re here for you, and we won’t have any problems with you if you’re not breaking the law. Don’t do the wrong thing and you won’t have a bad run in-with the police.”
For more, see: http://dailysignal.com/...