Page 9 - September 2019 FOP Newsletter

First Vice President’s Report
Words of encouragement from a mayor we would love to have
On Aug. 12, the 64th National Fraternal Order of Police Biennial Conference kicked off in New Or- leans.
On Aug. 15, the delegates selected Patrick Yoes as our new president. Yoes is a sheriff for the Charles Parish office in Louisiana. Yoes replaces Chuck Canterbury, who has represented our members for the past 16 years.
Canterbury recently was nominated to become the director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. We thank him for a job well done and
wish him well.
One of the first speakers at the convention was Attorney
General William Barr. Decades ago, Barr wrote a report arguing for more incarceration, stating that “the emergence in some of our large cities of district attorneys who style themselves as ‘so- cial justice’ reformers, who spend their time undercutting the police, letting criminals off the hook and refusing to enforce the law, is demoralizing to law enforcement and dangerous to pub- lic safety.”
Barr talked about the anti-police movement sweeping this country and efforts to resist the police, including physical resis- tance. Physical resistance should be considered a serious crime. When has an offender’s use of physical force been examined in recent times? Yet officers’ responses are examined ad nauseam.
Barr further stated that between 2014 and 2017, there was a 20 percent increase in attacks on police officers, including murder. The anti-police movement in this country has made it harder for cities to attract police officers, and releasing crimi- nals back into society has made communities less safe.
The next speaker was the mayor of New Orleans, LaToya Cantrell. Cantrell is the first African-American woman to hold this post.
A graduate of Xavier University, Cantrell settled in New Orle- ans prior to Hurricane Katrina. After the hurricane, she worked with residents to redevelop those areas that were deserted.
I listened as Mayor Cantrell spoke of the partnerships she has with the Louisiana State Troopers and local law enforcement of- ficers. She stated: “New Orleans’ crime is the lowest in the past 46 years.” She continued, stating that “One murder is too many, but you cannot control the actions of others. Policing is a coura- geous profession; what is important is how we partner.”
Cantrell then said that police officers “stand in the gap and do it with service, which is what it’s all about.” She has pledged to produce results that will create a more equitable and safe New Orleans for all citizens.
As we flew back into Chicago, I thought about the mayor’s words. Here is a mayor who gets it.
From day one, our own Mayor Lori Lightfoot has excluded the police and FOP, even after she ran on a campaign of transparen- cy and inclusion. The mayor put together transition teams that included members who are definitely anti-police. Is she here to build bridges or burn them?
In the future, the FOP has to work together and do a better job of electing officials who are pro-police and pro-safety. The days of sitting back and watching from the sidelines are over.
Each and every one of us has an obligation to get involved and vote for the person who is morally correct, rather than political- ly correct.
We as a city can address the problems that we face, but we need a mayor, judges and a state’s attorney who will follow laws, not disregard them.
Our mayor is a former federal prosecutor who does not like being called out. When that happens, instead of sitting back and listening she spews insults. On her next vacation, maybe she should go down to New Orleans and compare notes with Mayor Cantrell. And if Mayor Lightfoot does go to Louisiana, she should bring a few notepads.
Mayor Lightfoot talks about reform and how the FOP will not concede to make the desired changes that she wants. My position at the FOP is to defend our police officers against any allegations. The protections in our contract and state law are there because police officers have rights, too. Her frustrations come from her inability to make officers perform “at will” and fire them without “just cause!”
I will, to the best of my ability, continue to fight for our offi- cers!
PAT MURRAY
CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ SEPTEMBER 2019 9