A pro-police mural was painted outside the Tampa Police Department headquarters over the weekend to help boost police morale.
The "Back the Blue" street mural was painted by a group of 40 people Saturday evening. The work of art spans the block of East Madison Street and is painted with black, white, and blue colors representative of the pro-police "thin blue line" flag.
Kelli Campbell, one of the lead organizers of the mural painting, said the event was all about showing support for local law enforcement.
"We want to make sure that they know just because we aren't the loudest, doesn't mean we aren't there and in numbers. There's a huge force. Our Back the Blue Florida group has 5,000 members in it, and that's just a piece of the puzzle, of course," Campbell said.
The group proceeded with the mural painting despite not receiving official approval from the city. Campbell said they had verbal approval from the mayor's office but the city was still working through the formal process.
A local FOX affiliate reached out to Mayor Jane Castor's office regarding the permit.
"Any tribute to honor their service is welcome," the mayor's office responded. "It's unfortunate they didn't see the permitting process through so that our community could participate in showing their appreciation for the brave men and women that service our residents every day."
