CULLMAN – Cullman resident Jamie Speakman has taken it upon himself to show his support for local law enforcement by spray-painting a blue line on the curb outside of his home.
Speakman, whose home is located near Cullman High School, says that the idea came about when he saw someone else in another community paint their curb through a Facebook post.
“I went to the store and bought the paint, and my kids were saying, ‘Dad, I don’t think you can do that.’ But I did it,” Speakman said. “I explained to my kids the reason for doing that, for showing the support for law enforcement.”
Speakman says he hopes others see what he is doing and follow suit in their support of Cullman police officers.
“I’ve always been a big supporter of the police,” he said. “And a couple of my friends on Facebook have commented on my post saying they have done the same thing, so I guess you could say it is catching on a little bit.”
Cullman City Police Chief Kenny Culpepper first heard about this show of support on Monday afternoon.
“We really appreciate the support from the community,” Culpepper said. “It is the first I have heard of it, but we are really grateful. We’ve always had great support from the Cullman community and we really do appreciate the act of support from this gentleman and anyone else.”
Speakman says that his support of police officers is strong and he likes to show officers as much respect as possible, and he teaches his children to do the same.
“You know, people should just thank an officer the next time you see one. We tell our kids, we want our kids to understand to respect police officers. When we’re eating and see a police officer eating there too, we pay for their meal. You know, you don’t have to spend money, but just tell them you’re thankful for them,” Speakman said.
Speakman says that by painting the thin blue line in front of his house he is telling any officers who see it that his is a home that supports the work of local law enforcement.
The “thin blue line” is a term commonly used to refer to police officers, in that they stand as the thin line that protects society from good and evil, chaos and order. The emblem is many times used as a show of support for law enforcement.
