Matt McFarland, a local firefighter with Humboldt Bay Fire, has filed a grievance through his union after being asked by his boss, Humboldt Bay Fire Chief Bill Gillespie, to stop wearing a “Black Lives Matter” lapel pin on his uniform.
McFarland argues that the pin represents an important message about inclusive justice and that it conforms to his department’s uniform policy, which allows lapel pins provided they are “fire service related and in good taste.” But in a written response to McFarland’s grievance, Gillespie disagrees, saying the pin is neither fire service related nor in good taste.