By late afternoon, the chief had reversed the policy.
“Within the past few days, we have heard from some members of the community and our own Service regarding the ‘yellow ribbon’ decals on some police vehicles and plans to find different ways to honour our troops. This led to misperceptions in the community that questioned our commitment to our troops,” Interim chief Todd Rollauer said in a press release.
“I have therefore ordered that the decals will continue to be displayed. At the same time, I will be asking staff and members of our command team to continue our discussions with the Canadian Forces and others on the most meaningful way the DRPS can continue to demonstrate our unwavering support for our troops going forward.”
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“They’re very disappointed,” he said. “There’s always been a close connection between the police and the military, both are putting yourself out there to protect other people.”
The idea for the cruiser decals dates back to 2006 after DRPS officers spontaneously attended every Hwy. 401 ramp in Durham Region to pay tribute to fallen soldiers who were being transported from CFB Trenton to Toronto.
“We expressed our disappointment to the chief,” said Goodwin. “It’s the chief’s decision to make, but I hope the service changes its mind, and we go back to putting them on our cruisers.”