Philly FOP is selling T-shirts defending fired officers. The police department doesn’t want its badge on them.

The Philadelphia Police Department said it will ask the city’s police union to stop selling a T-shirt bearing the department’s trademark badge logo next to a slogan that reads, “Heroes when we die, fired when we try.”

The Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5 began selling the shirts at $20 a pop on Monday — a week after Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw announced the firing of an officer who fatally shot a 12-year-old boy in the back in South Philadelphia earlier this month.

“BACK IN STOCK ONLINE!!” the union posted on Facebook, linking to the union’s merchandise website.

» READ MORE: The Philly police officer who fatally shot a 12-year-old boy will be fired, Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said

Anthony Erace, executive director of the civilian Police Advisory Commission, said he was “immediately concerned” about the shirt, and intended to reach out to the department about it. He was especially concerned about the timing of its sale so close to an officer’s dismissal for his role in the fatal shooting of Thomas “TJ” Siderio, the youngest person killed by police in decades.

“With the logo there, it seems like it’s being endorsed by the PPD, and we were worried about what that implied,” said Erace.

While it is unclear when the union previously sold the T-shirts, the slogan has been the subject of at least two departmental investigations into officers’ social media posts, and department officials said the union does not have permission to pair the phrase with the official department insignia.

» READ MORE: What we know — and don’t — after Philadelphia police fatally shot 12-year-old Thomas Siderio

Outlaw said she sympathized with the officers who might wear the shirt but indicated that police firings are a consequence of misconduct.

“While I do not believe the majority of officers would agree with the slogan on this T-shirt, I understand that some officers feel this way,” Outlaw said, in a statement to The Inquirer. “That being said, it is important that our officers know that they will be continuously supported by leadership as long as their lawful actions fall within the scope of their duties, policy and training.”

On the topic of rules, the department said the official shield emblazoned on the shirt is a trademarked image, and the FOP didn’t have approval to use it. Sgt. Eric Gripp, a department spokesperson, said that a cease-and-desist letter would be sent to the union. (He could not provide a copy of the letter to The Inquirer.)

“In this instance, the FOP did not communicate its interests in utilizing the trademarked image in this manner,” Gripp said. “The slogan on this shirt is not an official stance of the PPD or City of Philadelphia, so therefore, permission — if asked — would not have been granted.”

The FOP store sells other apparel featuring the badge, albeit with less controversial expressions. One shirt decal includes the badge with the LOVE sculpture lettering. Another shirt features an Irish shamrock. Several feature the badge by itself without commentary.

A spokesperson for the FOP declined to comment Wednesday.

The police union has a long track record of seeking reinstatement for officers who have been fired for misconduct, even in cases involving egregious behavior from sexual assault to lying under oath. More than 260 officers have died in the line of duty since the department’s founding more than 150 years ago, according to the Police Department.

According to police records, the department investigated two officers for posting the slogan “Heroes when we die, fired when we try” on their Facebook pages, as part of the department’s review in the fallout of the Plain View Project database in 2019, which cataloged thousands of controversial and racist posts made by police.

The department reviewed posts made by two officers detailed to the 26th District and the airport who had posted images of the police badge alongside the phrase, but ultimately the posts did not break department policy, records show.

Gripp said the slogan by itself does not violate department policy.

“However, context is key,” he said.

The most common citation the department made after the Plain View Project probe was that officers had violated the social media and networking policies.

The directive prohibits officers from using ethnic slurs, discriminatory or harassing language, and personal insults online, as well as a general prohibition of any content “that would not be acceptable in a City workplace under City or agency policy or practice.”