Dad’s Thin Blue Line flag honors son who was killed. HOA wants it gone, lawsuit says

A father has filed a suit against his local homeowners association, which he says levied fines against him for flying a Thin Blue Line flag outside his Ohio home.

Tom DiSario said the Cumberland Crossing Homeowners Association is violating his freedom of expression, but the HOA for the Pataskala, Ohio, neighborhood said the flag suggests a “political statement” and should be removed, according to the lawsuit filed Wednesday, Dec. 7 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.

DiSario received the flag in May of 2017 following the killing of his son, Steven DiSario, the former police chief of Kirkersville. The 38-year-old was shot and killed May 12, 2017, as he responded to a report of an armed person outside of a nursing home.

For the next five years, the father flew the flag outside his home to honor his son. Thin Blue Line flags, with their white, black and blue coloring, are often displayed to show support for law enforcement, but they have also sparked controversy.

It wasn’t until May of 2022 when DiSario’s flag was said to violate HOA protocol.

“The political sign in the form of a flag must be removed from your property,” the HOA said in a letter to the homeowner. “The flag on your pole is not a United States flag. It is a political statement.”

If DiSario did not remove the flag within 10 days, he would be fined, according to the HOA’s letter.

DiSario told the Newark Advocate the flag represents his son’s sacrifice, and he immediately intended on taking the association to court.

“To be honest, when I saw the letter that people are fighting me over something very valuable to me and personal, I broke down and cried,” he told the Advocate. “That’s how much it meant to me.”

The president of Omni Community Association Managers, which owns and manages the HOA, declined to comment on the case to the Newark Advocate.

DiSario fights back

The homeowners association imposed fines against DiSario, but he kept the flag up, according to the lawsuit. He said the HOA’s instruction to take down his flag violated his First Amendment rights.

DiSario’s accusations were “inaccurate and self-serving,” said David Dye, president of the Omni Community Association Managers, according to the lawsuit. Dye said the request by the HOA was not to “restrict political speech,” the lawsuit states.

The association sent homeowners a proposed deed restriction amendment to vote on the signage, but the amendment failed, meaning DiSario still had to remove his flag or be fined daily, his attorney said.

According to the lawsuit, the homeowners association threatened legal action if DiSario did not take down the flag.

He removed the flag in November, 10TV reported, but vowed to continue his fight.

“I will fight until I have no breath in me,” he told the station. “This will be approved.”

Lawmakers show support for DiSario

A bill was introduced by Ohio lawmakers in August to prohibit the restriction of the displaying of Thin Blue Line flags.

Rep. Kevin Miller, who introduced the bill with fellow Republican Tim Ginter, said the bill “is all about honoring those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice.”

“That flag is about his son who gave his life in the line of duty,” Miller said of DiSario, according to WCMH. “That’s something that’s very special to him and we’re just looking to protect that.”

The bill has not been voted on.

DiSario sues HOA

DiSario, along with the National Police Association, sued the Omni Community Association Managers and Cumberland Crossing Homeowners Association, saying it is unconstitutional for the flag to be restricted.

“Because First Amendment protections are so strong for political speech inherent in residential flags, it cannot be reasonable for a homeowners association to restrict such flags,” his attorney states.

In not being allowed to fly the flag, DiSario is suffering “irreparable harm,” according to the lawsuit.

Attorneys are requesting the language in the HOA’s restrictions to be deemed unconstitutional and to prevent the HOA from enforcing the rule.

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