New Jersey Turnpike Authority removes American flags hung by local police to commemorate 9/11

[rangerrebew]

New Jersey Turnpike Authority removes American flags hung by local police to commemorate 9/11
'We cannot understand why the N.J.T.P.A. has suddenly decided to abandon a tradition of patriotism and respect for our veterans'
by Law Officer
September 8, 2020
 

NEW JERSEY — Local officials in New Jersey are criticizing the state’s turnpike authority for ordering the removal of American flags that were hung along overpasses in the wake of the attacks on Sept. 11 to honor veterans and those who died defending the country, according to authorities and reports.

Michael Slininger, president of the police union representing Robbinsville Township, near Trenton, said the group had just paid to replace the more than 12 flags that had been either “missing or tattered” from the overpasses along the New Jersey Turnpike and Interstate 195 – which they had done “to continue the tradition of honoring our veterans and those lost in service for our country,” FOX reported.

“American flags have been flown on overpasses throughout the state and throughout the nation since 9/11,” Slininger wrote Monday on a post to the Robbinsville Township Police Benevolent Association’s Facebook page. “Now, as we approach the anniversary of that horrific day, we are extremely disappointed to announce that the NJ Turnpike Authority saw fit to remove all flags on overpasses covering the N.J.T.P. last week, replacing them with signs citing … a code which is meant to apply to advertisement material or improper road signage.”

https://www.lawofficer.com/new-jersey-turnpike-authority-removes-american-flags-hung-by-local-police-to-commemorate-9-11/

[Gefn]

@rangerrebew

Good news! 

Murphy slams brakes on removal of American flags from N.J. Turnpike, Parkway overpasses

Gov. Phil Murphy overruled the New Jersey Turnpike Authority’s decision to remove patriotic displays of American Flags from Garden State Parkway and Turnpike overpasses after an uproar about the decision to bar the informal displays.

“They’ve suspended that for the time being,” Murphy said during his Tuesday press briefing on the coronavirus after an NJ Advance Media reporter asked him about the ban.

Murphy was initially asked about the ban during a morning WPG radio call-in talk show, during which he told host Harry Hurley he would reverse the ban.

“I didn’t like what I heard. After I got off the call, we spoke with the team,” he said at the afternoon coronavirus briefing. “At least for the time being, the Turnpike Authority has suspended that.”

https://www.nj.com/news/2020/09/murphy-slams-brakes-on-removal-of-american-flags-from-nj-turnpike-parkway-overpasses.html