President Trump Standing Behind the Badge

BY MITCHELL KRUGEL

An unwavering support for the police, the commitment to keep officers safe, and a relentless desire to give them every resource they need to do the job has made President Trump the best Commander in Chief law enforcement has ever known.

Twitter tenders an organic window into the world of the real

Donald Trump, a round-the-clock report of the president’s real thoughts and real agenda. Lurking at the top of his page is a picture broadcasting Mr. Trump’s devotion to what he deems as perhaps the sturdiest pillar of American protection and service.

Clad in their pristine white uniforms, deputies from the Palm Beach County, Florida Sheriff’s Office motors unit surround President Trump flashing a vibrant smile and even more vibrant thumbs up. Air Force One sets the backdrop, waiting to whisk him away from a brief respite at Mar-a-Lago.

Moving parts and moving mountains to make this photo happen reveal great insight into the president’s real support of law enforcement officers, and his passion to never stop battling for the badge. Every time he breaks at Mar-a-Lago, Trump tries to find time to snap a selfie with a deputy or two. But the sheriff’s office rotates so many deputies through this detail, and they all want a photo op with their Commander in Chief. There are just never enough photo ops.

So, at the end of 2018, the President of the United States implored his Secret Service agent in charge to consult with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office about mustering all the deputies in the motor unit. The Secret Service is used to such requests from the president. Because of his excruciatingly demanding schedule, agents always try to keep him moving. But when he sees law enforcement, members of the military or any other uniformed personnel who provide his security, well, he just can’t help himself. g

To pull off this team photo, a special gate to the runway was opened. Word spread and officers from nearby law enforcement agencies, including Boca Raton, Palm Beach Gardens and Delray Beach, were allowed in to bring the ranks to nearly 70. The photo was snapped. And then the president walked the line to shake hands with each and every officer.

“It probably sounds a little corny, but for many of these officers, this truly was the biggest thing they will ever get to do,” explained Captain Paul Vrchota, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office incident commander whenever the president comes to town. Vrchota has been in command for visits from other presidents and candidates. He did so when Hillary Clinton came through in 2016 and was there when George W Bush told Vrchota how he had the coolest job.

But no leader of the free world – or anybody running for that gig – has meant as much to the police as Donald Trump.

“We don’t get that same respect that we get from President Trump,” Vrchota continued. “The only way we’re able to do our jobs as law enforcement officers in this country is through the consent and support of the public. If we have a president who is vocal and supportive of law enforcement, it trickles down through the community. Something that helps us through the day is the support we get from President Trump.”

WITHOUT POLICE, THERE IS CHAOS

Trump has earned distinction as the “Law and Order President” through an unwavering support for the profession that he generated even before taking office. He has consistently shown such bravery, right up to the executive order he signed in midJune confirming police is paramount.

Steve Casstevens, president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), wasn’t quite sure why the president summoned him to the White House in advance of that June 16 issue. He received a call on his personal cell phone a few days before: “Hi chief, this is Molly from the White House. I have President Trump on the phone.”

“He could have had any number of staffers call me,” reported Casstevens, the chief of the Buffalo Grove Police Department in north suburban Illinois. “But he made the call himself.”

Apparently, the president needed to assure the leader of one of the most influential law enforcement associations in the world that the order coming in the wake of historical anti-police protests over the death of George Floyd would not give in to public outcry. Casstevens sat in the Oval Office for nearly an hour discussing, among other topics, use of force, de-escalation, better officer training and the prohibition of using chokeholds.

“Then he paused, looked directly at me and said, ‘I don’t want to do anything that hurts law enforcement,’” Casstevens detailed. “He didn’t want to see any legislation that makes officers less safe. I thought, ‘Wow, that’s impressive.’”

At a time when it would have been understandable, and certainly politically correct, to waver on his support for law enforcement, Trump was at his most unwavering. He issued the executive order to encourage law enforcement agencies to implement best practices and protect the communities they serve. He was very clear that this order would raise the standard of law enforcing in the US.

He was also very clear what it would not do. And why.

“I strongly oppose the efforts to defund, dismantle and dissolve our police departments, especially now when we’ve achieved the lowest recorded crime rates in recent history,” the president has declared. “Americans know the truth. Without police, there is chaos; without law, there is anarchy; and without safety, there is catastrophe. We need leaders at every level of government who have the moral clarity to state these obvious facts.”

Unwavering in his support for the badge? Law enforcement has never had a shadow of a doubt. Perhaps that support is a significant component of the lowest recorded crime rates in recent history.

NOT JUST TALKING THE TALK

The past three and a half years have been the most encouraging and validating period for law enforcement officers in recent history, largely due to the about-face from the executive branch. Bill Johnson, executive director of the National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO) that represents more than 330,000 rank-and-file law enforcement officers, recalls tearing his hair out over working with the Obama Administration.

Around 2014, President Barack Obama enacted a policy to disband the federal government providing surplus military equipment to law enforcement under the Federal 1933 Program. Additionally, his administration wanted to restrict the use of protective equipment like helmets and shields as though they were machine guns and bayonets.

“To give it a restriction meant filing a report every time one was used,” explained Johnson, a former Florida police officer turned attorney. “What did they want to see? ‘Somebody threw a brick at me so I put a helmet on.’ End of report.”

The Trump Administration made it clear from the start that it would have no use for hair-raising treatment of law enforcement. And no here today, gone tomorrow, either. After getting elected in 2016, he immediately sent his transition team to meet with NAPO, which offered ideas for Department of Justice grants, mandating two-officer patrol cars and additional recommendations the Obama Administration more or less disregarded.

The timing couldn’t have been any better for a fresh approach and a fresh start. In July 2016, four police officers were assassinated in Dallas. A month later, four more officers were gunned down in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, exacerbating cold-blooded attacks on the police that, with no visible support from the government, made the job as dangerous as it had even been.

NAPO was told to wait for Congress to act to protect law enforcement. Truth be told, it would have taken an act of Congress to muster any support for law enforcement at that time.

The Trump Administration wasted no time in acting. Two days after the inauguration, he held a reception at the White House for all law enforcement officers who worked the event. Two weeks later, he hosted a group of county sheriffs from across the country to discuss his commitment to securing the borders and reducing crime.

And less than three weeks after taking office, the president issued his first executive order that made it the policy of the executive branch to: Enforce all federal laws to enhance the protection and safety of federal, state, tribal g

and local law enforcement; Direct the attorney general to develop a strategy to more effectively prosecute people who engage in crimes against law enforcement officers; Pursue appropriate legislation, consistent with the US Constitution’s regime of limited and enumerated federal powers, that will define new federal crimes and increase penalties for existing federal crimes in order to prevent violence against federal, state, tribal and local law enforcement officers.

Not coincidentally, these policies were included in suggestions NAPO made to the president’s transition team and bestowed an affirmation of his pre-election pledge to bring back law and order and to bring back respect to law enforcement. From that moment on, law enforcement realized that their Commander in Chief did not need to set his hair on fire to defend them.

“At that moment, we realized he was not just talking the talk,” praised Johnson, who attended both the signing of that first executive order in 2017 and the most recent one in June 2020. “And he continues to do that today. He recognizes officers have a right to defend themselves, and that when use of force is justified, it’s justified.”

And that has only brought Trump closer to the police.

“He might be unpopular for having to do that,” Johnson added. “But he is catching the same grief as officers do, and a lot of cops respect him for that.”

WE HAVE YOUR BACK

The greatest statement of respect in law enforcement includes three simple words: “Got your back.” It’s not just a recognition of great professionalism. It’s a phrase of endearment passed from one law enforcer to another.

Now, Mr. Trump certainly seems to be worthy of such tribute given the way he has walked the walk the past four years. But law enforcement performance can be a metrics-driven entity, especially when it comes to verifying to supervisors, directors and elected officials the prowess of programs and initiatives.

Consider, then, some of the metrics resulting from Trump Administration-driven initiatives:

• From 2016 to 2019, violent crime dropped 4.6 percent in the US, where violent crime spiked in each of the two years prior to the president taking office.

• The national murder rate declined during his first two years in office to a 7-percent reduction after increasing each of the prior two years.

• From 2016 to 2018, the number of robberies nationwide dropped by more than 50,000.

• In 2018, the Trump Administration charged the largest number of firearms crimes defendants in the history of the country. And federal firearms prosecutions increased by 44 percent compared the last two years of the previous administration.

• In reviving the 1933 program, the Trump Administration provided more than 600 million dollars worth of surplus military equipment to local law enforcement.

“The previous administration did not want to make you look like a threat,” the president announced during his keynote address to the 2019 IACP conference. “I said, ‘That’s OK. We want to protect our police officers.’” Accordingly, his administration made funding available to train more than 80,000 police officers.

In thinking back to a meeting he had with President Trump in 2019, Florida Police Benevolent Association President, John Kazanjian, cites another number. He conjectures that of the 10 million arrests law enforcement made last year, there were a little more than 1,000 officer-involved fatalities. Out of the 1,000, 41 were unarmed. Kazanjian says one death is too much but he emphasizes how dangerous it is to be a law enforcement officer.

As Kazanjian’s conversation with Mr. Trump progressed, they chatted about the results of the president’s support for the badge. Law enforcement is a formidable voting bloc that includes its friends and family and it very well might have pushed him over the top in states like Florida during the 2016 election. Subsequently, the president formed a coalition with law enforcement that has led to improving the safety of citizens and those who serve and protect him.

And that prompted Kazanjian to offer some compelling words to the president that can only come from a law enforcement officer to one of their own.

“I told him, ‘We have your back, Mr. President,’” Kazanjian reported. “And he looked back at me and said, ‘No, I have your back.’”

Fast forward about a year and a half, and Kazanjian recalled that interaction painted against what has happened in the country since the end of May. He appraised how much backup has been coming from the president.

“Federal, state and local politicians have taken our money and our endorsements and have thrown us under the bus. They don’t have our back. Joe Biden has not come out to support us,” Kazanjian continued. “Mr. Trump understands we need law and order and that the angry mob cannot dictate the narrative. That’s why he is the law and order president.”

THAT MOST SACRED CALLING

Clearly, President Trump is willing to put law enforcement on his back. He has been a riveting speaker at just about every major national law enforcement gathering. His speech in front of the US Capitol on National Peace Officers Memorial Day each May 15 offers an emotional, validating, consoling, multiple-standingovation-generating crescendo to National Police Week.

The president uses that all-in-this-together voice at these events, the inviting tone fueled by what Casstevens calls an uncanny ability to recall the names of officers lost in the line of duty and their family members. To law enforcement officers, he seems to reiterate an oath of office when making these speeches. He always, always starts with, “We stand with you 100 percent,” and then will follow up with ovation-rendering oratory.

“When danger came, when darkness fell, when destruction loomed, they did not flinch. They were not afraid. They did g

not falter. They stared down danger, raced down alleys, chased down criminals, kicked down doors and faced down evil,” Trump announced during his 2018 National Peace Officers Memorial Day remarks. “And they did it all with courage, with dignity, with pride, with love for their nation and with love for their families. They lived every day of their lives by that most sacred calling: to serve and protect. And today, every American heart bleeds blue.”

He continued with another passage from that 2018 appearance that also tends to be part of each presidential address to the blue.

“Today we are also joined by Savannah and Ayzayah Hartfield, along with their amazing mom, Veronica. We honor their father and husband, Officer Charleston Hartfield of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. As many of you remember, Officer Hartfield was off duty attending a concert with Veronica when that horrible shooting began in Las Vegas in October (2017). He immediately leapt into action, rescuing the wounded and shielding the innocent. You all read about it. I remember it so well. As he did, he was shot and killed by rounds of gunfire. He knew he was right in the path, and it made no difference. He gave his life so that countless others could live.

“Savannah and Ayzayah, your dad was a guardian angel to those in need. Now he is keeping watch on you from heaven.” As applause gave way to tears, imagine the scene of 20,000 law enforcement officers collectively wiping their eyes. To honor law enforcement this way is the most sacred genuflect to the blue, and from Trump it usually climaxes with a lasting thought, just like it did on that May day.

“We must confront and condemn dangerous anti-police prejudice,” Trump declared as officers rose one more time to cheer. “We’re not going to let bad things happen to our police. In 2016, an officer was assaulted in America on an average of every 10 minutes. It’s outrageous and it’s unacceptable. We must end the attacks on our police and we must end them right now. We believe criminals who kill our police should get the death penalty. We must show appreciation, gratitude and respect for those who police our streets and patrol our communities.”

REAL-TIME EXPERIENCE

Law enforcement brings a right-back-atcha to the president with regard to honor and tribute. It would be easy to characterize this as a mutual admiration society. And it is.

But if admiration is the mother of attention, then aspiration has been the mother of invention for the Trump Administration to continually formulate policy and practice to make law g

enforcement more effective. And much of this has come from doing what the previous administration did not, by doing what elected officials at the federal, state and local level often do not.

The president has brought law enforcement leaders from every avenue to the table to discuss improvement opportunities. NAPO President, Mick McHale, frequently refers to the 2017 convening of a group to recommend a national use-of-force policy as one of the president’s most illustrious accomplishments.

McHale is the consummate rank-and-file cop representing 330,000 of them. He marvels at the law enforcement constituents represented at this use-of-force table that included IACP, the Fraternal Order of Police, the National Sheriff’s Association, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement (NOBLE), Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) from the US Department of Justice, the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association and a half-dozen others.

McHale has been to the Rose Garden on several occasions to witness the president sign legislation and executive orders that improve law enforcement. But nothing gets this 30-year-plus law enforcement veteran going more than having a seat at the table. “I think the president recognizes that the rank-and-file being at the table to bring accurate representation of the daily threats we face is an important aspect that needs to be shared,” McHale disclosed. “And it’s of great importance for all our associations to participate in these roundtable discussions and panels for the purpose of bringing real-time experience to the table.”

Real law enforcement supported by the real Donald Trump manifested in an ongoing roundtable known as the Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice. Issued by executive order on October 28, 2019 as the high note of the presidential address to the IACP conference, the Commission was tasked with providing concrete recommendations to address some of the systemic challenges that burden law enforcement, and offer best practices to recruit, hire, train and provide for the health, safety and wellbeing of officers.

The commission further validated the administration’s commitment to law enforcement’s expertise. As the president stated when he announced the formation of the commission, “After the commission issues its recommendations next year – they’ll have them immediately because many of them know the answers before they begin – we will begin implementing its ideas immediately.” g

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To say that the commission addressed exactly what law enforcement needed would be an understatement. McHale or any other rank-and-file cop would have corroborated the commission’s mission being dead-on accurate for including:

Addressing refusals by state and local prosecutors to enforce laws or prosecute categories of crimes.

Improving the physical safety, health and wellness of officers.

Promoting public respect for the law and law enforcement officers.

Better integration of education, employment, social services and public health services into efforts to reduce crime and ease the burden on law enforcement, courts and corrections systems.

The use of targeted deterrence approaches to reduce violent crime.

Using new and developing methodologies, technologies and best practices for combatting criminal activity.

Developing the effectiveness of contemporary law enforcement training methods around critical topics, the direction of nextgeneration training methods and understanding of critical training needs.

McHale went back to the table on July 8th to participate in discussion about the hottest topic on the job: community trust and the respect of law enforcement. He also noted Trump’s endorsement of another nationwide group to recommend resources for mental health evaluation of law enforcement and treating mental health issues that continue to result in the high numbers of suicide in the profession.

Such presence seems to confirm that having law enforcement expertise in his arsenal is the mother of prevention for the president. “We appreciate the opportunity to be active participants in the formulating of ideas that are enacted through laws or special orders to ensure public safety needs are being addressed,” McHale emphasized. “The president, along with Attorney General (William) Barr and the Department of Justice, have been great partners in not only protecting law enforcement, but, more importantly, providing the protection to the public it so richly deserves.”

WE STAND READY TO ASSIST YOU

In this social media centric world, imagine some of the Tweets law enforcement officers and leaders might post. Comments have come from so many that would be perfect for the real Donald Trump.

Following a roundtable with President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence on June 8, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, whose pedigree includes federal prosecutor, judge and wife of a cop, commented:

“In Florida, we are at a 48-year crime rate low. And I believe it is because of people like you, Mr. President, who have supported law enforcement. I admire that you are willing to dig in and have these conversations. And we stand ready to assist you.”

At the 2019 IACP Conference, the president recognized the heroics of several law enforcement officers, including Thomas Thompson of the Lubbock, Texas Police Department who responded to a bank robbery and took on violent gunfire as he burst through the door. Thompson, who ended the threat with deadly force, told the president:

“Thank you for your support of law enforcement, especially in this day and age. That’s no small thing. It matters.”

Chicago Police Officer John Catanzara is known for showing up at city council meetings wearing a Trump baseball jersey. He said it’s his way of letting local elected officials know what it takes to be a great leader.

“Especially in this city where the previous mayor and current one are willing to throw us under the bus, back it up a couple of times and change a tire, it’s refreshing to hear the most powerful man in the world appreciates what you do. He’s not going to ask how I do my job. He’s just going to say, ‘thank you.’”

On January 28, the Trump campaign held a rally in Wildwood, New Jersey. The New Jersey State Policemen’s Benevolent Association was asked to offer two of its 33,000-plus members to be part of the security detail for the president’s motorcade.

Meg Hammond, a 22-year veteran with the Raritan Township Police Department, was asked to represent. As she witnessed thousands line the streets to wave flags and wave at the president, she realized what he has meant to her profession.

“It’s his unwavering support and appreciation for what we do,” Hammond articulated. “He realizes law enforcement is a necessity to keep all people safe, and if you give us the tools and the resources, we can do it even better.” Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Captain Vrchota has seen the real Donald Trump as much as any cop. And in the pantheon of interaction, he continues to be particularly moved by two revealing moments.

When the president comes to Mar-a-Lago, even going out to play golf requires a battalion of security. “He has been known to ask us that if he decides to take the day off and stay in, how many of our deputies can we send home to be with their families,” Vrchota revealed.

And on Thanksgiving 2017, the president and the first lady realized that hundreds of officers had no real option for dinner. Restaurants were closed, and the kitchen at the resort was likewise not serving.

“So Mrs. Trump asked them to open the kitchen, and they cooked up everything they had,” Vrchota recalled. “It was like a fourcourse dinner. They have served us the same dinner every big holiday since.”

That is your law and order president: Promoting safety and respect for the badge; giving them the resources and support to do their jobs; offering a virtual handshake with every comment and every post about the importance of the rule of law and those who defend it; doing everything in his power to keep it real for law enforcement.