Police Union Now Pressures Amazon.Com To Halt "Black Lives Matter" Sales

The largest police union in the country has requested Amazon follow Walmart’s lead and stop selling Black Lives Matter merchandise they’ve labeled “offensive.”

In an open letter to the online retailer, Fraternal Order of Police president Chuck Canterbury urged CEO Jeff Bezos to remove all apparel with slogans “BULLETPROOF," "Black Lives Matter" and "Hands up, don't shoot" from Amazon's website.



He encouraged Bezos to stand by the police union in “increasing the bonds of trust between the men and women of law enforcement and the communities they serve.”

The police order recently succeeded in having merchandise removed from Walmart’s online stores after accusing the retailer and the third-party sellers peddling the products to profit “from racial division.”

Describing Amazon as a “pretty liberal marketer,” Canterbury told the Guardian the rhetoric featured on some of their apparel has prompted a lot of tension between officers and members ot their community.

He cited the “amount of violence demonstrated at Black Lives Matter marches and the fact that eight police officers had been assassinated while protecting Black Lives Matter movements.”

Canterbury was referencing two separate incidents: a shooting in Dallas where a sniper gunned down five officers during an anti-violence protest and another attack in Baton Rouge that left three officers dead.

And while neither shooter was associated with the Black Lives Matter movement, Canterbury said the group’s rhetoric “had inspired people of feeble minds to strike out at police officers.”

“It happened as a result of the BLM groups,” he told the Guardian.

Walmart last week complied with the police order’s request, pulling “BULLETPROOF” shirts and hoodies from their online markets but no other apparel associated with the movement.

“Commercializing our differences will not help our local police and communities to build a greater trust and respect for one another,” Canterbury wrote to the retail chain. “Turning a buck on a strained relationship will not contribute to the healing process.”


The third-party vendor selling the “bulletproof” shirts was Connecticut-based Old Glory Merchandise. Owner Glenn Morelli told CNN that he had already decided to remove the shirt from his site before it gained national attention.

“It wasn’t a big seller at all,” he told the news station. “The Blue Lives Matter [shirts] sell more than the Black Lives Matter or bulletproof shirts combined. We don’t like to offend anybody ... You have to sell all different kinds of shirts, It’s hard to make everyone happy.”

The "BULLETPROOF" apparel on Monday was still on Amazon's website but listed as "currently unavailable."

Amazon did not immediately respond to the Daily News' request for comment.