By Police1 Staff
CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. — The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department is removing Bible verse decals from the back of police vehicles.
The decals read “Blessed are the peacemakers … Matthew 5:9” and have been on the vehicles since they were donated to the agency in March, the News and Advance reported.
The Virginia branch of the ACLU and the Freedom From Religion Foundation called the decals an unacceptable breach of the “Constitution’s wall between church and state” and are an “inappropriate religious endorsement by a sheriff.”
“It’s a biblical phrase … it’s directly on a sheriff’s vehicle,” ACLU of Virginia Legal Director Leslie Mehta said. “So someone being stopped by a sheriff’s deputy may feel one way or the other, that you’re on my side because I’m a Christian or you’re not on my side. Either way, that presents a problem under the First Amendment.”
Capt. Brian Wright told the publication that the decals are a “great way to honor our brothers and sisters in law enforcement during a time when many seek to tear them down.”
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