Back to School: New York City Teachers Welcome Kids with NYPD Shirts

By Carla Murphy Sep 05, 2014

Despite warnings from their union, some New York City teachers this week wore NYPD shirts back to school "as a show of support for cops in the wake of the Eric Garner death and union-backed rally for Al Sharpton," the New York Post reports. At the heart of the ensuing conflict are teachers’ union and department of education rules regarding dress code as well as public perception of the teachers’ actions by parents and children. "Certain T-shirt messages may appear to be supportive, but individuals (parents, students) may see a different meaning in that message," an e-mail sent by a union official and obtained by the Post says.

One Facebook image shows teachers from Staten Island, the borough in which video shows the death of Eric Garner at the hands of police officers, posing in gray NYPD T-shirts. Another photo, the Post reports, shows "white T’s bearing a heart-shaped image of a handshake and the words, "New York’s Brightest Supports New York’s Finest.""

"Most notably," the Post reports, teachers at IS 72 also defied the union’s warning. IS 72 is named after Rocco Laurie, a white 23-year-old police officer slain in 1972 along with his partner, a black officer and fellow Vietnam veteran, Gregory Foster, 22, by members of the Black Liberation Army. Their deaths are still honored today.

Read more and see images at The New York Post.