The Tulsa Fire Department has decided to remove blue stripes from fire trucks supporting law enforcement.
Fire Chief Ray Driskell told KOTV that he was afraid that the stripes may be sending the wrong message and that the fire department just wants to remain neutral.
"It hit me in my heart that this was the right thing to do for the City of Tulsa and for the citizens," Driskell said, clarifying that while the department added the stripe following the deadly ambush of officers in Dallas last year, some residents began to complain after a Tulsa police officer was recently acquitted in a controversial fatal shooting.
"Some people made a connection that, with Officer Shelby, the blue line meant that they supported her or that they back her or that they backed the decision from the jurors," he said. "Our service is not based on political affiliation -- because what is happening in politics, even at the local level, has nothing to do with how we provide a service. It makes us no difference who they are. They are still gonna get our help and they are gonna get the best service that can be provided to a patient."
Driskell said that he doesn't need a blue stripe on fire trucks to show solidarity with the police department.
"They know that we support them," he said. "I have weekly meetings with them. I have firefighters who work out with them."
Driskell asked captains at every station across the city to remove the stripes immediately.
