Page 26 - January 2020 FOP Magazine

n BY MITCHELL KRUGEL
FOP presidents from across the coun-
try have gathered at the White House to appeal to President Trump for help with an issue that continues to severely hinder law enforcement. Approximately 20 of them sit in the cabinet room sur- rounding the president at the confer- ence table, discussing how to hold state and local prosecutors who are allowing repeat violent criminals back on the street accountable. This is a powerful image showing not only the gravity of the situation but the influence of the FOP. (Check out who is sitting to the president’s immediate right.)
A few moments later, another telling photo op transpires when these presi- dents hold a press conference right out-
Presidents from FOP Lodges across the country met with President Trump at the White House to come up with ideas about how to hold local and state prosecutors more accountable.
26 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ JANUARY 2020
side the White House. They will all step up to the microphone to relate specific examples of what National Vice Presi- dent Joe Gamaldi describes as, “Letting out these dirt bags or repeat violent of- fenders who are doing gun crimes.”
Perhaps the most definitive illustra- tion of this monstrosity has come with the Chicago Lodge 7 executive board’s action to post billboards at 10 intersec- tions throughout the city with the mes- sage:
HELP WANTED
Cook County States Attorney
Please Contact FOP Lodge #7
Board of Directors
If a picture truly is worth a thousand
words, then these three images could constitute War and Peace. Following
a planning meeting of FOP presidents with members of the Department of Justice (DOJ) in September, National President Pat Yoes led the group to the White House, where this unprecedent- ed meeting with President Trump and members of the DOJ and Department of Homeland Security was held on Dec. 6.
“The meeting was key because we were able to tell the president we have to go after these prosecutors who want to attack police and not criminals,” ex- plained Lodge 7 President Kevin Gra- ham, who was seated next to the pres- ident. “He was very encouraging to all the Lodge presidents and more than willing to help law enforcement, as he always has been committed to.”
Chicago has actually become the sec-
Get the Picture
Actions in Chicago and Washington, D.C., bring focus to the issue of holding prosecutors accountable
Chicago Lodge 7 has posted 10 billboards
throughout the city with a defin- itive message for the Cook County
state’s attorney.
FOP presidents gather outside the White House for a press conference.
A photo op in the Oval Office seems to indicate that FOP leaders had a productive meeting with President Trump.