The New England Police Benevolent Association plans Thursday to host Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump months after boycotting President Barack Obama for anti-police rhetoric.
The union represents law enforcement personal from across New England. Leadership within the union already met with Trump and now hopes the upcoming meeting will provide membership the chance to do the same. Membership will ultimately decide which candidate to endorse. Union Executive Director Jerry Flynn notes a top issue for member and leadership is the rise of anti-police rhetoric.
“Members of our executive board met with him last Thursday,” Flynn tells The Daily Caller News Foundation. “From there we invited him to our executive board meeting.”
Trump has positioned himself as the brash candidate who speaks his mind. He has made strict immigration controls a central focus on his campaign. He also proposed temporarily restricting Muslims from entering the country in the wake of Islamic terrorist attacks and an influx of Syrian refugees. His stance has been criticized by Democrats and even some of his fellow Republicans.
Flynn hopes membership will get the chance to meet and hear from other candidates as well. Police have many concerns regarding the rise of violence and hate against law enforcement. Unions, for the most part, tend to endorse Democrats. Flynn, however, notes their concern is not party but who has their best interests in mind. It has endorsed Democrats and Republicans alike.
“Traditionally what we do is, we invite those candidates we have shared interests with or our members have expressed interest in,” Flynn notes. “Unlike a lot of unions we don’t automatically support candidates with a D in front of their name.”
The union has also accused Obama of perpetuating the rise of anti-police hate. It boycotted the president during a Labor Day speech Sept. 7 in Boston. The administration has been very critical of police over recent instances of alleged misconduct. Flynn asserts the president often condemns police before knowing the full facts an incident.
“If our membership votes a certain way, we’ll endorse him, if not we won’t,” Flynn adds. “My members will decide who to endorse.”
Freddie Gray died in April from spinal injuries while in the custody of Baltimore police. Michael Brown was shot dead after robbing a store and assaulting police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Mo. Another incident involving alleged police misconduct resulted in the death of Eric Garner. Garner was caught selling untaxed cigarettes.
“Bill Clinton was the best friend us in law enforcement ever had,” Flynn continues. “That being said, Hillary Clinton is not Bill Clinton.”
Trump has not had a lot of support among unions. Local chapters at Unite Here have accused him of ignoring the struggles of his Las Vegas hotel workers. Local 2455 of the National Border Patrol Council cancelled a meeting with him July 23 after Trump called illegal immigrants rapists.
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