NYPD blue colors Lynn mayor’s ribbons

LYNN – Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy wrote an open letter of support to local police officers and started a black-and-blue ribbon distribution campaign to demonstrate her anger over the shooting deaths of two New York City police officers last Saturday and ongoing protests aimed at police.Kennedy spent part of Wednesday morning cutting and folding “thin blue line” ribbons she said will be available in her City Hall office for anyone who wants to take and display one in support of local law enforcement.”I feel very strongly they need to be shown our support,” Kennedy said.Protests against police have not come to Lynn, but community groups and church congregation members met Monday to discuss the deaths and the protests.Washington Street Baptist Church pastor Eric Nelson said another community meeting is planned for Jan. 5 at 7 p.m. at Bethlehem Pentecostal Church on Light Street. “Everyone is invited just to start the dialogue, then constructive action can begin,” Nelson said.In her two-page, hand-written letter dated Dec. 22 to “the men and women of the LPD,” Kennedy expressed anger over national leaders’ “anti-law enforcement” reactions to a grand jury decision not to indict a Missouri police officer in the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.Kennedy also criticized New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio in her letter following the deaths of the New York officers.”More despicable still was the politicians’ lame attempt to create a storyline that the killings were merely the act of a madman, and not an attack on law enforcement in retaliation for the Brown and Garner decisions,” she wrote.In remarks posted on the New York mayor’s office website, de Blasio urged people this week to “put aside protests, put aside demonstrations” out of respect for the slain officers’ families. He also urged anyone with information about any attempt to harm police officers to report the information to police and intervene, if possible, to halt an attack on police.Kennedy said she bought enough material to make “10 yards worth” of ribbons and said her design for the ribbons incorporates a narrow blue line on a black background.She concluded her letter to local police by stating that “the vast majority” of Lynn residents appreciate the sacrifice made by local police officers and their families. Kennedy said she thinks local police officers and residents across the city enjoy a “very healthy relationship.”Police Chief Kevin Coppinger said Lynn officers appreciate Kennedy’s “support and understanding.””The fact that she has a good grasp on our job and understands the risks the officers take each day means a lot to the department,” he said.