Gettysburg, South Dakota, Removes Confederate Imagery From Police Cars, Uniforms

The South Dakota town of Gettysburg, which was named for the Civil War battle of the same name, has removed Confederate imagery from its police patches and other symbols affiliated with the town, The Argus Leader reported.

Back in 1884, 21 years after the Union victory in Pennsylvania that is believed to have been the turning point in the Civil War, officials mapped out the settlement in what was then the Dakota Territory. A century later, in 2009, the town’s police chief added a patch to police uniforms bearing a Confederate flag.

Specifically, the emblem bore two crossed flags in front of a cannon, one of the Union and the other the Army of Northern Virginia Battle Flag. The “Stars and Bars,” as it’s known, was never the official flag of the Confederate States of America, and indeed, most Confederate soldiers, excluding those of Virginia, would have never seen it. Nevertheless, it has since come to be colloquially referred to as “the Confederate flag” and is an emblem of the Southern side of the war.

The emblem then made its way from police uniforms to emblems on the town’s police cars, the police station, and other properties associated with the Gettysburg police.

Then, some time in the past few weeks, it started disappearing.

On Monday night, as WCCO-TV reported, Mayor Bill Wuttke and the City Council issued a joint statement confirming that the current Chief of Police, Dave Mogard, has removed the logo from all uniforms, vehicles and buildings. Further, the officials noted that the previous police chief had the authority to put the patches on the uniforms, and that Mogard had and has the authority to remove them.

“The patch that has been the focus of media coverage in 2020 was applied in 2009 solely by the authority of the office of police chief. This officer is no longer employed by the city of Gettysburg,” the statement read, in part.

Further, White and the city council seemed to indicate that the matter is now closed.

“No further action is deemed necessary,” the statement read.

Gettysburg resident Mark Braaten, however, wasn’t sure that the removal of the patch was necessary. As The Pioneer Press reported, he believed the patch was a symbol of unity.

“It’s a symbol of two sides coming together living in peace and harmony,” Braaten said.

Meanwhile, it seems that the police in the town will be getting new patches on their uniforms. An unidentified couple from Rapid City donated $100 to the Gettysburg Police Department to purchase new patches.