A creative Vermont inmate has modified the state symbol that adorns police cruisers to include an image of a pig, said state officials.One of the spots on the cow in the Vermont state crest has been changed to be the shape of a pig. The car decals are made by prisoners in St. Albans in a shop that also make state stationery and license plates.
In the 1960s, the term "pig" came to be used in derogatory fashion to describe police officers.
Lt. Paul White, station commander in Middlesex, said there are at least three of these decals on cruisers at his barracks. He said the full inventory hadn't been made. He said he was alerted by the fleet administrator who said it was first detected by a state trooper in southern Vermont.
Vermont Public Safety Commissioner Keith Flynn told the Burlington Free Press this afternoon that he became aware of the alteration earlier in the day and had asked Corrections Commissioner Andrew Pallito to explain the situation.
Flynn said initial information indicates about three dozen of the modified decals are on state vehicles.
The disclosure brought chuckles to both Flynn and Senate President Pro Tempore John Campbell, D-Windsor, who are both former police officers.
"This is not as offensive as it would have been years ago. We can see the humor," Flynn said. He said the artist has talents that could be used elsewhere. "If that person had used some of that creativeness he or she would not have ended up inside."
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20120202/NEWS02/120202039?fb_ref=artsha...
