Walmart pulls Black Lives Matter T-shirt

THIS retail giant has been forced to pull a controversial T-shirt from its online store following complaints from police.

US RETAIL giant Walmart has pulled a controversial Black Lives Matter T-shirt from its online offerings amid complaints by police.

Walmart told Fox News Insider that it will no longer sell the shirts with the words “Bulletproof: Black Lives Matter” on its website.

The move came after the Fraternal Order of Police called the shirts offensive and asked the retailer to stop sales.

The police organisation’s president Chuck Canterbury said in a letter to Walmart chief executive Douglas McMillon that the shirts could “damage Walmart’s good name among the law enforcement community”.

“I urge you to prohibit the use of the Walmart name and website for the retail sale of these products,” Mr Canterbury wrote.

Walmart responded by providing a statement Tuesday to The Associated Press pledging to cease sales of the shirts.

The statement said the company has a marketplace with millions of items offered by third parties, including Blue Lives Matter, Black Lives Matter and All Lives Matter merchandise.

It said Walmart removed the Black Lives Matter shirt after hearing concerns from customers.

The shirts were sold by Connecticut-based Old Glory Merchandise. A company representative was not immediately available for comment.

US police have been on high alert all year amid unrest following police killings of African-Americans.

In July, five police were killed and six wounded by a sniper at a Black Lives Matter rally in Dallas, Texas. Shooter Micah Johnson said he “wanted to kill white people, especially white officers”.

Later that month, three police were killed and three more wounded in an ambush attack in Baton Rouge, Louisiana by former Marine Gavin Eugene Long. Long used his social media accounts to call for African-Americans to “fight back”. “That’s the only way a bully knows to quit,” he wrote.

Photo from a BLM march last week - That sign says "Oink Oink Bang Bang" - And now, #BatonRouge cops are dead pic.twitter.com/IEJt0xtbUl

— Cameron Gray (@Cameron_Gray) July 17, 2016

This is the face of a hero. Montrell Jackson was a father. A husband. A friend. A police officer. #BackTheBadge pic.twitter.com/9shHXJEcHL

— Scott Angelle (@ScottAngelle) July 17, 2016

- With staff writers