T-shirt worn at Guns 'N Hoses charity event causing controversy

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Some local firefighters are facing backlash for T-shirts they wore to a charity boxing match.

Action News chose to blur the picture, because unedited it looks like an obscenity followed by the words "the police."

Many are calling the shirts insensitive since the widows of two New York City police officers were the guests of honor at the Guns N' Hoses match.

Local firefighters and police officers took part in the charity event here at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena on Saturday. It was a boxing competition for charity but now they say some people took the competition too far.
 
Crowds of people turned out for the annual Guns 'N Hoses event, where local firefighters and police officers face off in a boxing ring to raise money for charity. But some firefighters and other people in the community are now sounding off on the shirt some firefighters wore that day. It says "Firetruck The Police" with certain letters enlarged to spell a vulgar word.

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"I would definitely say poor taste," Sunny Montes said after seeing the photo. "I think it's insensitive to the police in general."
 
The T-shirt is especially sparking outrage on social media because the two widows of the slain New York Police Department officers killed last year on the job attended the event during a visit to Jacksonville.

Firefighter Jason Kerr shared his disappointment with the choice of words on the shirt on Facebook writing in part "with our special guest and our current times that face first responders, this was a lack in judgment and for that I apologize for this … "
 
But not everyone agrees.
 
"It's probably all in jest. I wouldn't take it too seriously myself," said Keith McCannon.

McCannon said his close friend is a fire chief on a Naval base and believes the language is part of the friendly competition between firefighters and police officers.
 
"I'd think it was hilarious. I'd come back with something even funnier next year," McCannon said.
 
We reached out to the Fraternal Order of Police for comment but we haven't heard back.

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