Ruling prohibits firefighter from wearing BLM pin on uniform
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Marissa Papenek & Alexandria Hasenstab KCRC-TV:
A hearing at Eureka City Hall Wednesday determined Humboldt Bay Firefighter Matt McFarland is not allowed to wear a Black Lives Matter (BLM) pin on his Humboldt Bay Fire uniform.
‘It’s on the news every night ,” McFarland said June 6 at the hearing. “There are systematic problems for people of color who are hesitant to approach anybody with a badge, anybody in a uniform.”
When Eureka Police Chief Andrew Mills saw McFarland wearing the pin on his uniform, he felt it was against uniform code for Humboldt Bay Fire and reported it to their deputy chief. Fire Chief Bill Gillespie agreed with Mills and asked McFarland to remove the pin because it violated HBF uniform codes that state any pins worn on a uniform cannot be political and must be in good taste.
