Gonzalez
said "stop snitching" doesn't necessarily mean not reporting crimes
to police.Police: New T-Shirts Urge People Not To Report Crimes
'Stop Snitching' Shirts Pulled From Some Shelves
LANCASTER, Pa. -- Police rely heavily on the public's help to solve crimes, but a new T-shirt popular in Pennsylvania urges people to "stop snitching."
"I only have two left right now," said Alberto Gonzalez, the manager of the New Style store in Lancaster. "It's a funny shirt because it says what people really want to say."
Gonzalez
said "stop snitching" doesn't necessarily mean not reporting crimes
to police.
"It could mean anything," he said. "It could mean a brother talking to a sister -- to stop telling on her. A sister telling a brother to stop telling on him."
But some disagree, and think the message is very clear.
"I think it's pretty obvious what that is -- don't snitch. Don't talk to the police, don't talk to anybody in authority," said Capt. John Flemming, of the Lancaster Bureau of Police.
And police don't want that message to get around.
"I can't emphasize enough how important it is that we have the community's support and their assistance, not just solving crimes that have already happened, but really being more proactive so crimes don't occur," Flemming said.
"Law enforcement shouldn't rely on the informants so much anyway. They should be able to make their cases without that anyway," said Terrance McNeil, who works at the Sneaker Villa store.
McNeil said his store ordered the shirts about two or three weeks ago, but they don't have them anymore. The mayor of Philadelphia asked the chain's owner not to sell the shirts, so they were pulled from all stores.
"I feel that is wrong because we should be able to sell what we want to sell, and then wear whatever we want to wear," McNeil said.
"Everybody has the freedom of expression," Gonzalez said.
Police don't disagree, and they don't mind the shirts being sold, as long as they're only a fashion statement and not a state of mind.