Son of slain officer told he can’t wear mask backing police while working at NC Lowe’s
A Lowe’s employee in North Carolina wore a mask showing support for police to work and was told to remove it, according to reports from his family and local media outlets.
His father, Officer Jason Crisp with the U.S. Forest Service, was killed in the line of duty six years ago.
Dozens of people showed up in response at the Lowe’s Home Improvement in Marion, about 40 miles east of Asheville, to protest on Thursday night, WSOC reported. Garett Crisp, who is still employed at Lowe’s and agreed to follow the company policy, reportedly did not attend.
“I wouldn’t want this to be political. It’s very personal to us,” his mother told the TV station. “It was very personal to Garett and I hope it was just one person’s mistake not to wear the mask and not the corporation of Lowe’s.”
In a statement to McClatchy News on Friday, Lowe’s said it “respect(s) the desire to share personal views and honor loved ones.”
“However, we ask all associates while in the workplace to follow our longstanding dress code policy, which only allows associates to wear items with visible logos that are related to Lowe’s business, such as the name brands we sell,” the company said. “We will also continue to provide masks and vests to all associates to make it easier to follow our policy.”
Protesters told WLOS that Garett Crisp arrived for work a few weeks ago wearing a mask in support of Blue Lives Matter and was informed it violated store policy.
The mask showed a black and white U.S. flag with one blue stripe known as “the thin blue line,” McDowell News reported.
Crisp’s father and his K-9 partner Maros were killed on March 12, 2014, according to the U.S. Forest Service. The pair were off-duty when they joined the search for a man accused of killing his father and step-mother. The suspect, Troy David Whisnant, shot and killed Jason Crisp and Maros before turning the gun on himself, Fox 8 reported at the time.
Organizers planned Thursday’s protest on Facebook, saying “they didn’t want to block traffic or raise their voices but show their ‘solidarity for our heroes,’” according to McDowell News.
Family friend Chris Marsh spoke at the event, and Jason Crisp’s wife shared a video of his speech on her Facebook page.
“So thankful for everyone that came out to support Us and law enforcement,” Amanda Crisp said in the post. “Also a big thank you to Chris Marsh for an amazing speech!”
Marsh said he knew Jason Crisp for “many, many years” and described him as “an old McDowell County boy” during his speech.
He said he didn’t care about political affiliation, sexual orientation or race, but he hoped the crowd was “full and diverse” to show support for the family and “honor and protect Jason’s legacy.”
“I never thought in a million years — let alone my lifetime — that loving, beholding and displaying the American flag and/or vocally supporting the police would be controversial,” Marsh said. “But here we are.”
