One of the largest police unions in the world recently endorsed Donald Trump.
They’ve picked their side — and we need your help to fight back.
Dear friend,
Two weeks ago, the NYC Police Benevolent Association, “the largest municipal police union in the world,”1 endorsed Donald Trump’s re-election. And last night, the union's president praised Trump at the Republican National Convention.
If you know anything about police unions, this endorsement comes as no surprise. Put simply, police unions are one of the single largest threats to Black life in America.
Police unions defend violent and abusive cops and often succeed in getting killer cops reinstated after they’re fired. They use their political power to block reform and win contracts that effectively put police above the law. And they attack and threaten anyone who dares to challenge the police2 — including activists, elected officials, and people just like you, friend.
For police unions, money is power. They use it to buy politicians’ support and block reform. That’s why Color Of Change PAC launched “No Cash From Cops,”3 a national campaign to demand elected officials on both sides of the aisle refuse donations from killer cop organizations.
Police unions are one of our main foes in the fight for Black lives. And we’ll be blunt, dear friend : to take them on — and to win desperately-needed police accountability — we need resources.
With their full-throated endorsement of Trump last night, the NYC Police Benevolent Association (PBA) has shown the world exactly where police unions stand. Yes, they support Trump’s “law and order” platform and fetish for brutal policing. But this endorsement is also a tacit approval of the harm the Trump administration inflicts on Black people — and a rebuke on police accountability of any kind.
Although this is PBA’s first presidential endorsement in nearly four decades, politicians on both sides of the aisle have vied for — and gleefully accepted — the support of powerful police unions for years.
From the presidency to the city council, Republican AND Democratic elected officials know police unions are an enemy they can’t afford to make. And we can’t afford to sit on the sidelines while police unions buy up our democracy and enable the police violence that plagues Black communities.
In polling and at protests, Americans have spoken and are emphatic : Policing needs fundamental change. But police unions like PBA and the Fraternal Order of Police will block reform with all they’ve got.
Police unions aren’t on our side. With only two months until the November election — in the middle of a national referendum on police — we’ll be hearing more and more from them. Through their ads and endorsements, police unions will tell us exactly what they’re fighting for : the ability to terrorize Black and Brown communities with impunity.
Dear friend, as long as police unions have a hand in local and federal politics, our communities will continue to suffer. We can’t let police money upend our democracy or continue to threaten Black lives.
Until justice is real,
Scott, Malachi, Ernie, and the rest of the Color Of Change PAC team .
References :
1. The Inevitable Trump-Police Union Synthesis. New York Magazine, Intelligencer. 18 August 2020.
2. The Fraternal Order Of Police: A Union That Stands In The Way Of Police Reforms. NPR. 8 June 2020.
3. No Cash From Cops: Say No to Money From Police. Color Of Change.
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