The head of the biggest police union in the country says he’s “shocked and disappointed” that Hillary Clinton will not be seeking the union’s endorsement.
President of the National Fraternal Order of Police, Chuck Canterbury, told The Hill: “You would think with law enforcement issues so much in the news that even if she had disagreements with our positions, that she would’ve been willing to say that.”
Clinton’s staff reportedly did not fill out a questionnaire that’s required for seeking the police union’s endorsement.
This year, only Trump’s campaign filled out the questionnaire– The Hill reported.
The Fraternal Order of Police represents 335,000 members. The last time it endorsed a Democrat for President, was Bill Clinton in 1996.
Despite the apparent snub, a Clinton campaign spokesman said that Hillary is committed to law enforcement officers , and will continue to engage them as president to come up with solutions to “build the bonds of trust” between police and the communities they serve.
The union’s national executive director, Jim Pasco, said about Clinton’s decision not to fill the questionnaire: “Candidly we were very disappointed.” Pasco adds that he doesn’t view support for law enforcement in partisan terms, however, Trump is working hard to win the police union’s endorsement.
In a meeting Friday with the union’s presidential screening committee, Trump pledged his support for federal dollars for training and said he’s in” full agreement” on lifting the executive order on surplus military equipment.
Trump has shown tremendous support for the law enforcement community. “We’ve seen that at most of his campaign stops he takes time to speak to the officers that are protecting him…very respectful and that’s being recognized by law enforcement officers,” Canterbury said.
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