*The endorsement of Donald Trump by the Fraternal Order of Police does not sit well with a number of black officers – particularly in the city of Philadelphia, according to NBC News.
Philly’s local FOP chapter has also endorsed the Republican presidential candidate over the objections of a group that represents some 2,500 African-American officers in the city and which has branded Trump an “outrageous bigot.”
“Our Local FOP is saying that our people have to follow the national lead,” Rochelle Bilal, head of the Philadelphia Guardian Civic League, told NBC News. “We are saying you don’t have to vote for Donald Trump and the national FOP should have stayed out of this election.”
Bilal, a former Philly cop who retired after 27 years on the force, said “those of us in law enforcement who are people of color are constantly trying to build bridges to the community, we’re trying to build trust in law enforcement.”
But “the Trump campaign is racist, sexist, anti-gay. It’s a divisive campaign that’s now dividing law enforcement,” she said.
“There is no way anybody of color with any common sense would support the candidacy of Donald Trump,” Bilal added.
The FOP, which has 330,000 members and claims to be the largest police union in the world, announced its endorsement of Trump on Friday saying that the GOP nominee “understands and supports our priorities.”
“Donald Trump may not ever have been elected to public office, but he is a proven leader and that’s what we need for the next four years — a leader unafraid to make tough choices and see them through,” FOP President Chuck Canterbury said in a statement last week.
Asked whether the feelings of African-American cops were taken into consideration, FOP spokesman Jim Pasco said 30 percent of their members nationwide are minorities. He claimed backing Trump was not a top-down decision.
“The National FOP requires all State Lodges to survey their memberships as to their Presidential preference,” Pasco responded in an email to NBC News. “The State Trustees are then responsible for voting to endorse a candidate consistent with the wishes of their respective state’s memberships.”
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