BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey is defending his agency's decision to begin putting new "In God We Trust" decals on patrol vehicles.
- Brevard County has added "In God We Trust" decals to patrol vehicles
- A group has asked Sheriff Wayne Ivey to remove them
- Ivey is defending his agency's decision
This after a group committed to the separation of church and state calls him to the carpet.
Sheriff Wayne Ivey considers himself a God-fearing man.
But something recently added to patrol cars is multiplying into a controversy.
"They have a better chance of me waking up thin early tomorrow morning than me taking it off my vehicles," Ivey said.
The agency is beginning to get a handful of new fleet SUVs each year.
"We wanted it to represent everything we stand for," he said.
The iconic space shuttle symbol remains, a tribute to the 30 year run of that program on the Space Coast. And the agency's badge now has the backdrop of an American Flag.
And one more thing.
"We wanted our state motto on there," Ivey said. "We wanted 'In God We Trust' and the principles on which this country was founded."
The group Freedom from Religion Foundation is urging Ivey to remove the decal from vehicles, calling the national motto 'controversial'.
In a letter FFRF told the sheriff it's inappropriate to adorn county vehicles with a religious endorsement.
"We're going to stand strong," Ivey said.
Ivey said deep dive research showed donning the decal wasn't a violation in the eyes of the higher courts.
"Our country is at a tipping point," he said. "And if we as strong, patriotic Americans don't start standing up for the principles this country was founded upon, we are going to lose the America we all know and love."
Sheriff Ivey adds a local car dealer volunteered to pay for the decals.