'Black Lives Matter' Sign Sparks Call for Boycott of Cox Farms by Police Union President

When a Northern Virginia police union member saw a “Black Lives Matter” sign this week at a home near Cox Farms, he called for a boycott of the popular pumpkin patch in Centreville.

The sign was not located on Cox Farms property, the business said in a Facebook post Thursday afternoon.

The police union member, Brad Carruthers, president of Fairfax Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 77, posted a photo of the sign on his group’s Facebook page, calling for a boycott of Cox Farms, according to a report by The Washington Post. That post has now been taken down but not before it sparked all sorts of controversy.

Thursday night, Carruthers wrote: “I have removed my post regarding Cox’s Farm because its intent was being misrepresented and the inflammatory nature of the comments made removing it the wiser course of action. The phrase “black lives matter,” which was initially associated with the positive intentions of creating better connections within communities and encouraging education and dialogue on issues of race, has unfortunately also been used more recently to incite violence against law enforcement officers, which is why it has negative connotations for us. My hope is that the situation will improve and we will forge better bonds and a better partnership within our communities.

Brad Carruthers
President, Fairfax Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 77”

Cox Farms also responded to the brouhaha, by posting an announcement on their Facebook page Thursday:

“We have always believed that we had a very positive relationship with our local police department. We have contracted FCPD officers to provide security for our festival for over a decade. We have supported their fundraising efforts, donated to their Police Unity tour, employed their children, and offered discounts to officers on our Public Servants Weekends. Neither our family nor our business is anti-cop, and we are absolutely anti-violence, against anyone. For this reason, we were especially surprised that the FOP and so many local officers jumped on the call to boycott our business and make such hateful accusations against us via social media.”

To read their entire message, go to their Facebook page here.

Their message has received 4,009 “likes,” shared more than 1,000 times and received as of Friday morning nearly 600 comments.