California town votes to keep American flag on police cars following controversy

A California town will keep American flags on its police cars following a controversy over their appropriateness, according to CBS Los Angeles.

The Laguna Beach City Council voted 4-1 to keep the flag design on the vehicles in a Tuesday night meeting, according to the news outlet, following dozens of residents speaking in favor of retaining it and a few speaking against.

{mosads}One of those opposed, retired Marine George Weiss, said he felt the flag’s placement contravened federal guidelines for displays of the flag, according to CBS. “For example, you see a lot of it even at the beach,” he said. “Hats. Bathing suits. It diminishes the value and respect of the flag.”

Seven of the police department’s 11 patrol cars currently feature the flag design, and the city will add it to the remaining four in coming days, according to CBS.

The controversy first emerged last week, with residents who opposed the flag design saying during a March hearing that it was too aggressive. “We have such an amazing community of artists here, and I thought the aesthetic didn’t really represent our community,” artist Carrie Woodburn said in March.

City Manager John Pietig called the Tuesday meeting to reconsider the design earlier in April “out of an abundance of caution to address questions that have been raised about the process,” according to the Los Angeles Times.