“F— the LAPD” shirt sold out after the police union failed to discontinue it

You may have heard of the Streisand Effect, where trying to suppress or censor something online only draws more attention to it.

Apparently the Los Angeles Police Department Foundation was unfamiliar with this concept.

As 404 Media reported, the union attempted to claim copyright on the letters “LAPD,” which are prominently featured on the Cola Corporation’s jersey, which is modeled after the Los Angeles Lakers’ logo, although the words instead read “F—the LAPD.”

The Coke company, which claims on its website that “provocation is a public service,” responded to the union’s demand with a simple answer: “LOL, no.”

A second, more substantive letter from Cola’s attorney, Mike Dunford, was also prominently distributed online and refuted the union’s claims. He suggested that the LAPD Foundation’s “thin-skinned bullies” had only one choice: “not to do things that make people want to buy and wear ‘F—the LAPD’ items.”

To make matters worse for the police, the attention drawn to Cola Corporation’s products has led to a surge in sales.

The T-shirts emblazoned with “F–the LAPD” have sold out, as have many of the company’s other products that are similarly transgressive and reference the Irish Republican Army’s attempts to assassinate Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and serial killer Aileen Wuornos.

“Mike’s first letter was RTD from Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine, and my store is almost completely sold out now,” Cola told 404 Media. “I struggle to keep items in stock even when I have backorders. The second letter was received with even greater joy on the Internet. Streisand effect in effect.”