Black Lives Matter Shirt Pulled From Walmart After Police Complain

Walmart pulls a Black Lives Matter shirt design after the Fraternal Order of Police complains.

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Walmart has stopped selling “Bulletproof: Black Lives Matter” shirts after getting a complaint from the Fraternal Order of Police, reportedUSA Today. This is the same retailer that banned a shirt about a woman president but somehow had no problem with making an ISIS flag cake.

Walmart stopped selling the BLM-branded shirts Tuesday after Walmart President and CEO C. Douglas McMillon got a complaint letter. A Walmart representative said, "Like other online retailers, we have a marketplace with millions of items offered by third parties that includes Blue Lives Matter, Black Lives Matter and All Lives Matter merchandise. After hearing concerns from customers, we removed the specific item with the 'bulletproof' reference." (It can be seen in the tweet below).

Walmart pulls 'Bulletproof,' 'Black Lives Matter' shirt after FOP request https://t.co/JQbRCs6T8n pic.twitter.com/rSv1gRFMIr

The letter came from Fraternal Order of Police National President Chuck Canterbury, who called the shirts “offensive” and damaging to the company name. He said the shirts would "damage your company's good name amongst FOP members and active and retired law enforcement officers."

Canterbury denounced the shirts in no uncertain terms. "Commercializing our differences will not help our local police and communities to build greater trust and respect for one another," he wrote. "Turning a buck on strained relationships will not contribute to the healing process."

The Bulletproof shirt was made by Old Glory Merchandise, whose owner Glenn Morelli said he was contacted by the FOP last week and pulled the shirt. "We understand where the FOP stand and their point of view. We didn't want to ruffle any feathers. Also, too, we support the police in different ways," Morelli said. That support includes the company's own Blue Lives Matter shirt.

The FOP also reportedly sent a similar letter to Amazon Wednesday, complaining about people using Amazon to sell shirts like Bulletproof: Black Lives Matter and the, in the organization's words, “urban myth” of “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot.”  

The Fraternal Order of Police, the largest police union, endorsed Donald Trump and has now called for the president-elect to further militarize police.

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