HOA Orders Colorado Police Officer To Stop Flying Thin Blue Line Flag Outside Home
CENTENNIAL, Colo. (CBS4) - A Colorado police officer has flown his "thin blue line" flag proudly for seven years, but now his HOA says it is in violation of the neighborhood policies and it needs to come down. The officer wished remain anonymous, but he has been with a police department in Colorado for 17 years.
"I'm proud to be a police officer," he told CBS4's Andrea Flores.
He's had the thin blue line flag hanging on his Centennial home since 2013. He's never had an issue until now.
"We got our mail yesterday, and I opened the mail up and saw a letter from the HOA, the Copperleaf HOA, saying, 'You're in violation of flag and flagpole,'" he said. "I thought it was ridiculous. If it was an issue why didn't they bring it to me from day one?"
Vista Management Associates runs the Copperleaf Homeowners Association for homeowners in Centennial. The notice says he has to take it down, or else he could face another notice, or even a fine.
CBS4 reached out to Vista Management by phone and email. They did not return our request for an interview.
"The HOA says they can have an American flag, they can have veteran's military flag, but why can't I have a police flag?" John said. "It's three by five, it's not standing, it's up just like my neighbor has his American flag in the same spot. It's not a nuisance."
For him, the flag symbolizes more than just support for men and women in blue.
"We serve the city and we serve the people. Not everybody likes us, and that's okay. You don't have to like us, but even if you don't like us, and you call and ask for help, I'm still going to go because that's what I signed up to do," he said. "That's what that flag represents."
That's why he isn't backing down.
"I'm going to leave it up, and I'm going to send back the letter to the HOA fighting the reason for the flag, and hopefully they'll listen," the officer said.
According to the notice, he has 14 days to either take down the flag, or provide a written request to the board to dispute the request and ask them to reconsider.