The police union at the Fairfax
Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 77 called for a boycott of the family business,
according to local WUSA.
By M. David for Counter Current
News and
S. Wooten
Virginia police couldn’t believe
a local family farm would have the audacity to post a “black lives matter” sign
on their window. Far from just a statement, the phrase has come to indicate
support not just for the idea that black lives matter just like all other
lives, but also for the wave of police accountability protests by the activist
group by the same name.
The police union at the Fairfax
Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 77 called for a boycott of the family business,
according to local WUSA.
But the call against Cox Farms
backfired dramatically.
First of all, the sign was posted
in the window of one of the family farm’s private homes. But even this personal
expression of support for police accountability activism was too much for the
local cops.
The Fairfax FOP referred to the
sign as “disturbing and disappointing” in their Facebook post. Backlash and
public outcry later led them to remove the post.
“This is a time in which law
enforcement is the target for criticism for almost everything they do and
officers are constantly questioned by the public and the media without the
benefit of all the facts,” the FOP post read. “The presence of this sign at
Cox’s Farms helps perpetuate this kind of behavior and judgment. I know you
have heard it about a million times but the truth is that ‘All Lives Matter.’”
The community rallied behind Cox
Farms which is known and loved by the community as a place to pick pumpkins and
take autumn taking tractor rides.
But the police said that the
business should be boycotted because of their “baseless criticism” of the police.
Gina Cox, the owner of Cox Farms,
said they have the right to post whatever signs they want on their home or
place of business.
“It’s her private property and
she can put up any political sign she wants to in her yard,” she explained to
local WUSA. “We treasure our relationship with our local police force, it’s not
anything against them at all.”
Now, residents are accusing the
police department of bullying and intimidation.
“The
Facebook post they made, which was removed because of the unprecedented public
outrage towards their attempt to bully a local landmark and beloved
destination, further reinforces the lack of trust in the Fairfax County Police
Department,” a local Cop Block community activist Mike Curtis, told the
station.
The FOP president, Brad
Carruthers, said said that they backed off of the family because it was the
“wiser course of action.”
“The phrase ‘black lives matter,’
which was initially associated with the positive intentions of creating better
connections within communities and encouraging education and dialogue on issues
of race, has unfortunately also been used more recently to incite violence
against law enforcement officers, which is why it has negative connotations for
us,” Caruthers stated. “My hope is that the situation will improve and we will
forge better bonds and a better partnership within our communities.”
But Black Lives Matter activist
Erika Totten said to WUSA. “It’s not an attack on individual officers; it’s a
movement to highlight the structural oppression Black people face in this
country. When Black men, women and children are dying in the street at the
hands of a law enforcement officer every 28 hours, when most of the people
incarcerated are there for non violent crimes, when a Black boy can be
assaulted for using the ATM and for making gentrifies uncomfortable, how can we
not begin the conversation on how to eradicate racial bias in our criminal
justice system.”
Police
union head calls for boycott of pumpkin patch over 'Black Lives Matter' sign
By
Justin Jouvenal October 15
The head of a Fairfax County
police union called for a boycott of a popular pumpkin patch because a “Black
Lives Matter” sign was displayed in the window of a home nearby.
Brad Carruthers, president of
Fairfax Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 77, said he would not patronize
Centreville’s Cox Farms and urged others to do the same in a lengthy message
posted on the union's Facebook page on Tuesday. Carruthers has since removed
the post, writing that its intent was misrepresented and some of the dozens of
angry comments that were left on it were inflammatory.
In the initial message,
Carruthers posted a photo of the sign and wrote that displaying it was a “slap
in the face” to the Fairfax County police.
“When Black Lives Matter emerged,
it was a small group trying to do the right thing,” Carruthers said in an
interview. “The fact of the matter is it seemed like that movement got hijacked
toward anti-police sentiments.”
Carruthers added he felt some
Black Lives Matter activists had helped foment violence toward police officers
across the country.
Mike Curtis, the founder of
police watchdog group Northern Virginia Cop Block, blasted Carruthers’s call
for a boycott and circulated the Facebook post.
“I think they use things like
this to create a false war on cops,” Curtis said. “They want to create the
impression they are under attack from everyone. Cox Farms works hand-in-hand
with the police.”
Erika Totten, a Black Lives
Matter activist in D.C., said she views the post as an effort at “intimidation
and control.” She said she also thought it was “odd” for Carruthers to focus on
a small business.
The owners of Cox Farms issued a
statement about the boycott on Thursday.
“We have always believed that we
had a very positive relationship with our local police department,” the family
wrote on Facebook. “We have contracted FCPD officers to provide security for
our festival for over a decade. We have supported their fundraising efforts,
donated to their Police Unity tour, employed their children, and offered
discounts to officers on our Public Servants Weekends. Neither our family nor
our business is anti-cop, and we are absolutely anti-violence, against anyone.
For this reason, we were especially surprised that the FOP and so many local
officers jumped on the call to boycott our business and make such hateful
accusations against us via social media.”
Carruthers wrote in the initial
Facebook post that an off-duty Fairfax County police officer had noticed the
sign when he was at the farm with his family. Carruthers called the sign
“disturbing and disappointing.”
“This is a time in which law
enforcement is the target for criticism for almost everything they do and
officers are constantly questioned by the public and the media without the
benefit of all the facts,” the Facebook post read. “The presence of this sign
at Cox’s Farm helps perpetuate this kind of behavior and judgment. I know you
have heard it all about a million times but the truth is that ‘All Lives
Matter.’ ”
Carruthers finished by writing:
“I hope you will join me and my police family and make a choice to go somewhere
else to enjoy your family fun this fall, where you will not be confronted by
such baseless criticism and judgment.”
Carruthers wrote that the sign
was displayed in the window of one of the farm's management buildings, but a
comment posted from the Cox Farms Facebook account said the building was a private
residence of one of the farm’s owners and was not on the farm’s property.
The post drew strong reactions
from hundreds of commenters on Facebook.
“Thanks for being completely out
of touch with the rest of society,” one person wrote.
Others defended Carruthers. “I
agree with this police department — you can't have it both ways,” another
wrote. “You can't expect extra help from your local police and post propaganda
from a group calling for police deaths.BOYCOTT COX FARM. There are plenty of
other places to take your kids that are a good example.”
Fairfax County Police Chief Edwin
C. Roessler Jr. said Carruthers had the right to free speech, but was not
speaking on behalf of the department.
“I'm a neighbor of Cox Farms,”
Roessler said. “That sign does not offend me. The sanctity of human life is
paramount in our profession.”
