Matthew Plum, The Examiner
2006-08-24 09:00:00.0
Current rank: Not ranked

Harford County -

A red New York Yankees baseball cap, seized from a Blood gang member in Edgewood, sits perched atop a computer hard drive in the field office of the Harford County Sheriff’s Office in Meadowood.

Police said the cap is paraphernalia that gang members use to show their affiliation. But the manufacturer of the cap, New Era Cap Co., insists the hat is just another “innocuous” product that has been twisted to serve those who would commit crime.

Cpl. Thomas Gamble, head of the Sheriff’s Office Gang Suppression Unit, said that New Era appears to be marketing its products to gang members.

“Their slogan is ‘It’s not just a hat, it’s a flag,’” Gamble told The Examiner. He found the “flag” terminology significant because that’s how gang members refer to the bandanas in gang colors that are favored fashion statements. Gamble said the company not only manufactures blood-red Yankee caps but also makes different hats in colors that represent other gangs.

“There is no truth to this whatsoever,” John DeWaal, vice president of marketing for New Era, said about any suggestion that the company was deliberately courting gangs as customers. DeWaal said New Era’s products are “fashion-driven,” and the New York-based company does not support gang activity.

Gamble’s argument could also be applied to the apparel sold at City Wear in Edgewood, such as red and blue hats and shirts with the word “gangster” and the likeness of late rapper Tupac Shakur.

City Wear owner Sang Ahn said that the merchandise she sells represents the latest in urban fashion. She said she did not in any way condone or support gang activity.

mplum@baltimoreexaminer.com