A week long flap over a Scranton police union grievance took a new turn Friday when 3,000 "We <3 Chief Duffy" stickers began showing up on bumpers and windows around the city.
By the end of the day Friday, a shocked and flattered Scranton Police Chief Dan Duffy had seen a picture of the sticker. The sticker was produced in reaction to the Fraternal Order of Police labor grievance targeting an arrest he made while off duty, something the union argues is the exclusive work of those in the bargaining unit.
"The sticker is a nice gesture, and I appreciate the support," he said. "But I'm actually a little embarrassed, and it's sad this sprang out of a controversy."
The man behind the run of stickers is Ed Carr, president and owner of Scranton Label Co., who wanted to show his support for the chief, distributing stickers to convenience stores and other outlets.
"What the union did was wrong," Mr. Carr said. "They say they want to get to the mayor, but they shouldn't do that through a guy like Duffy."
Efforts to reach Detective Sgt. Bob Martin, police union president were unsuccessful Friday.
Even though Mr. Carr doesn't live in the city and his business is in Ransom Twp., he has a positive opinion of the chief. Mr. Carr spoke to him only once - about an issue he had with a property he owns in the city. Mr. Carr's grandson, studying criminal justice at Keystone College, was impressed with Chief Duffy when he visited the class as a guest speaker.
"I'm not anti-union - that has nothing do with this," Mr. Carr said. "I think Duffy is a terrific manager - you only hear good things about him as a guy and a cop."
The outpouring of support for Chief Duffy in the wake of the union grievance - from personal visits, letters and reception on the streets - makes him somewhat uneasy.
The arrest that precipitated the grievance - picking up a man wanted on an outstanding warrant for petty drug dealing - was fairly routine and the sort of thing for which Chief Duffy was known throughout his career.
So his elevation to a sort of local folk hero catches him off guard.
"I'm honored the public is behind me, but I didn't do anything I wasn't doing throughout my career," he said. "A lot of this is because of the union leaders' poor discretion, not because I did something extraordinary to earn it."
What worries Chief Duffy most is that the spat could lead some to believe the chief and the department are divided - which is not the case, he said.
"The working men and women of this department are not against me," he said. "I can assure the public of that."
Mr. Carr said once the first 3,000 bumper stickers are gone, he'll print more, somewhat to Chief Duffy's chagrin; he wants to promote the department - not have his name on things.
"I'd rather the stickers say 'We love the Scranton Police Department.
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