Tennessee —
FFRF successfully removed a biblical reference from the Kingston Police Department’s letterhead in Kingston, Tenn.
A community member informed FFRF that the department placed a bible reference in official press releases. KPD’s Aug. 15, 2024, press release notes included “Proverbs 20:7” right beneath Kingston Police Chief Jim Washam’s name. That reference in the New International Version reads, “The righteous lead blameless lives; blessed are their children after them.”
“Citizens interact with and rely on law enforcement officers during some of the most urgent and vulnerable times of their lives,” FFRF Patrick O’Reiley Legal Fellow Hirsh M. Joshi wrote. “These citizens should not be alienated, like political outsiders, because their local tax-supported government oversteps with religious messages.”
While FFRF initially contacted the department in September 2024, the department did not respond until this February. City Manager David L. Bolling confirmed to FFRF that the police department would no longer be sending exclusionary religious messages going forward. “Please allow this email to serve as official notification that the reference to Proverbs 20:7, as addressed in the attached letter, has been removed from department letterhead,” Bolling wrote.
