Belleville chief patches it up

Belleville’s flag flap may finally be over thanks to a little help from a graphic artist or seamstress. There’s a new Belleville Police shoulder patch design featuring the fountain with U.S. and city flags.

Police Chief William Clay wanted Belleville Police patches on both shoulders of a uniform blouse. Many officers had U.S. flags on one shoulder that would need to be removed for a second city patch.

Boy, did the hornets start buzzing: Clay was anti-flag; Where was his patriotism?

Questioning the patriotism of Clay and also of Mayor Mark Eckert seemed like a bunch of hooey. Neither may be perfect, but they have served their country and community to the point that you’d be better served questioning the motives of those taking cheap shots while waving flags.

Clay’s attempt to get patches on both shoulders made sense. Residents should be able to readily identify an officer, or easily capture the department they represent in the smartphone video.

City Clerk Dallas Cook’s assertion that city cops are easily distinguished from security guards by the equipment they wear isn’t necessarily apparent to a freaked-out young motorist being approached by a guy wearing mainly black in the middle of the night. Police patches serve a purpose.

So it is good to see a solution, as evidenced by the applause for the new patch at the city council meeting.

And it would be nice to see city residents get this energized over an issue that actually has an impact on the city’s future.

This story was originally published August 6, 2015 at 2:00 AM with the headline "Belleville chief patches it up."