Lapd Supported ‘Coast To Coast’

Blue ribbons symbolize winners. That’s the idea.

Police officers from as far away as Miami, New York and Canada are pinning on tiny blue ribbons to show support for Los Angeles Police Department officers, portrayed by O.J. Simpson’s defense attorneys as shoddy workers and liars willing to plant evidence.

“It’s a statement of support that we stand together, one in blue, from coast to coast,” said Thomas Tohill, president of the Suffolk County Police Benevolent Association in suburban New York City, who said officers will wear the pins as tie tacks. They’ve ordered 1,500.

The enameled blue ribbons appeared on lapels in Los Angeles in 1991 when the LAPD came under attack after the videotaped beating of motorist Rodney King.

Councilwoman Laura Chick and Police Commissioner Art Mattox resurrected the campaign when Simpson’s defense attorneys suggested their client was the victim of sloppy police work and the alleged desire of one rogue cop, Detective Mark Fuhrman, to frame Simpson for the murders of his ex-wife and her friend.