NYPD Police Officers Are Only People Not Allowed To Buy NYPD Merchandise

If you look around New York City you’ll find the NYPD logo emblazoned on everything from hats and tie clips to jackets and coffee mugs, where you won’t find the logo is on the clothing and accessories for off-duty New York Police Officers.

On Tuesday police chief Ray Kelly issued a new ruling which forbids the city’s nearly 35,000 police officers from wearing any non-issued clothing with the letters NYPD.

The ruling comes after an officer was spotted wearing an NYPD T-Shirt that read:

“Kill Them All and Let God Sort It Out.”

Under the official ruling officers are forbidden to wear “any item of apparel which contains a Department logo or shield, or in any way identifies its wearer with the New York City Police Department unless approved by the Uniform and Equipment Review Committee, prior to being worn by a member of the service, uniformed or civilian, on or off-duty.”

In a rather dramatic response to the ban one NYPD officer told dnainfo:

“The NYPD logo is now on a par with al-Qaeda and bin Laden. We can’t display them.”

In the meantime any NYPD officer who current had NYPD keepsake is violating a direct order.

Do you think police chief Ray Kelly’s ruling is a bit silly given the fact that one person out of 35,000 caused the initial reaction?