Walmart is pulling its "Bulletproof: Black Lives Matter" T-shirts and hooded sweatshirts after the nation's largest police organization protested the products.
The Fraternal Order of Police called the message "offensive" in a letter to the retail giant, The Huffington Post reported.
"Commercializing our differences will not help our local police and communities to build greater trust and respect for one another." FOP President Chuck Canterbury wrote to Walmart CEO C. Douglas McMillon in a letter that was posted on the organization's Facebook page. "Turning a buck on strained relationships will not contribute to the healing process."
Walmart issued a statement Tuesday, saying that while it was removing the "Bullet: Black Lives Matter" T-shirt, it would continue to sell other third-party merchandise with the "Black Lives Matter" slogan on it, according to The Washington Post.
"Like other online retailers, we have a marketplace with millions of items offered by third-parties that include Blue Lives Matter, Black Lives Matter and All Lives Matter merchandise. After hearing concerns from customers, we are removing the specific item with the 'bulletproof' reference," Walmart's statement said, according to The Washington Post.
The Washington Post reported that Old Glory Merchandise, a music and entertainment apparel outlet from Connecticut, was selling the Black Lives Matter merchandise through the Walmart website.
The Black Lives Matters movement grew after the death of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin in 2012 and police-involved shootings in 2014, the Post reported. Some police officers have said the slogan is offensive.
The Huffington Post reported that Canterbury sent a letter to Amazon and chief executive Jeffrey Bezos complaining about other third-party companies who are selling shirts with the slogan "Hands Up, Don't Shoot." That slogan emerged during the police involved shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in August, 2014.
The slogan became popular after a narrative emerged that Brown raised his hands and tried to surrender before he was shot by police, but an investigation by the Department of Justice found no evidence to support that narrative, the Post reported.