20,000 signatures reached
To: Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) and police unions across the country
Tell police unions: stop defending Trump for encouraging police brutality.
President Trump’s recent comments encouraging police brutality promote unprofessional, criminal, and cruel behavior from police officers who are sworn to protect the public. Many police departments have denounced Trump’s comments and condemned brutality. But nearly every police union -- including the national Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) -- has either defended Trump’s comments or remained silent.
We demand that you denounce President Trump’s incitement of police violence in clear and certain terms, and make clear that your organization believes in lawful and constitutional policing. Anything less gives your members -- who are sworn to serve and protect -- a license to use even more violence than they already do.
We demand that you denounce President Trump’s incitement of police violence in clear and certain terms, and make clear that your organization believes in lawful and constitutional policing. Anything less gives your members -- who are sworn to serve and protect -- a license to use even more violence than they already do.
Why is this important?
When Trump gave a speech encouraging police to brutalize suspects, the crowd of officers laughed and cheered. Police departments and law enforcement officials across the country responded by condemning Trump’s comments. But the Fraternal Order of Police -- the largest police union in the country -- defended Trump. So did the leader of Cleveland’s police union. Dozens of police unions across the country have remained completely silent, while their police chiefs speak out. Only two police unions have said anything that even comes close to disagreeing with Trump’s comments -- and their statements were weak and made excuses for Trump.
Police unions have a long history of defending cops who brutalize, kill, and abuse their power. They fight against common sense reforms and any kind of accountability for police. Now, on top of that, they’re sending a dangerous message to the police officers that make up their membership -- that cops should be even more violent than they already are. It threatens the communities that police are sworn to serve and protect, and it puts officers themselves in more danger by further eroding trust in police.
By calling them out, we can expose how police unions are cheerleaders and enablers of police brutality, and one of the biggest enemies of police accountability and reform. It’s the first step to reducing their political power, their ability stop the common sense policing reforms we desperately need, and their practice of shielding officers who brutalize, kill, and break the law.
Police unions have a long history of defending cops who brutalize, kill, and abuse their power. They fight against common sense reforms and any kind of accountability for police. Now, on top of that, they’re sending a dangerous message to the police officers that make up their membership -- that cops should be even more violent than they already are. It threatens the communities that police are sworn to serve and protect, and it puts officers themselves in more danger by further eroding trust in police.
By calling them out, we can expose how police unions are cheerleaders and enablers of police brutality, and one of the biggest enemies of police accountability and reform. It’s the first step to reducing their political power, their ability stop the common sense policing reforms we desperately need, and their practice of shielding officers who brutalize, kill, and break the law.