Joe Biden is accused of 'bashing the blue' after issuing Police Week Statement saying there is a 'deep sense of distrust' toward cops after killings of black Americans
Joe Biden was condemned for issuing a Police Week statement highlighting the 'deep sense of distrust' black Americans feel towards cops in the wake of high-profile police custody deaths.
The President of the United States' statement, issued Saturday, said distrust of the police had been 'exacerbated' by high profile police custody deaths.
Biden said: 'This year, we also recognize that in many of our communities, especially Black and brown communities, there is a deep sense of distrust towards law enforcement; a distrust that has been exacerbated by the recent deaths of several Black and brown people at the hands of law enforcement.
'These deaths have resulted in a profound fear, trauma, pain, and exhaustion for many Black and brown Americans, and the resulting breakdown in trust between law enforcement and the communities they have sworn to protect and serve ultimately makes officers' jobs harder and more dangerous as well.'
The president continued: 'In order to rebuild that trust, our State, local, and Federal Government and law enforcement agencies must protect constitutional rights, ensure accountability for misconduct, and embrace policing that reflects community values and ensures community safety.
'These approaches benefit those who wear the badge and those who count on their protection.'
U.S. President Joe Biden, seen here with his wife Jill going from the White House to Delaware on May 15, 2021, issued a statement on police week that police supporters criticized as a slap in the face
First lady Jill Biden and U.S. President Joe Biden walk on the ellipse to Marine One on May 15, 2021 in Washington, DC. The President and the first lady will spend the weekend Wilmington, Delaware
Biden's statement - which also paid tribute to police officers - said high profile deaths of suspects had further worsened anti-police sentiment. He's seen here boarding Marine One on the way to Delaware
President Joe Biden, pictured on May 13, was condemned for issuing a Police Week statement claiming many black and brown Americans felt 'distrustful' of cops
Texas Representative Ronny Jackson was among those who condemned Biden over his remarks. The Republican - who served as White House physician to both Barack Obama and Donald Trump before taking office - tweeted: 'We've gone from 'Back the Blue' to 'Bash the Blue' in one administration.
'I'm still DISGUSTED that Biden would use his official Police Week statement to suggest that every Cop is a racist. Democrat hatred for our police is outright REPULSIVE.'
Biden's remarks came after the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund revealed that there were 264 law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty in 2020 - the most since 1974.
Most of those deaths were COVID related, according to the report; the second most was 'firearm-related.'
'This week we pause to pay respect to our law enforcement officers, particularly those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to protect their communities,' Jason Johnson, president of the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund told Fox News.
Texas Republican Rep. Ronny Jackson's tweet in response to Biden's police week remarks
George Floyd's May 2020 murder at the hands of Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin, pictured, sparked ongoing protests and debate over police brutality, and defunding law enforcement
The murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in May 2020 sparked ongoing Black Lives Matter protests, and calls for police departments to be defunded
Black Lives Matter protests erupted after Floyd was killed last May. Some protests were peaceful; others, like here in NYC, become violent riots
This was a protest on May 30, 2020 in Seattle, where police in full riot gear waited blocked the street from demonstrators
Protesters kneel and raise their arms if front of a row of police officers as they gather peacefully to protest the death of George Floyd at the State Capital building in downtown Columbus, Ohio, on June 1, 2020
'It is beyond disappointing to see the president of the United States continue to perpetuate false and hurtful myths about police, rather than uniting as he claimed he would during the campaign.'
Florida Republican Rep. Brian Mast tweeted side-by-side photos of White House statements from May 10 and May 14 that showed flags were originally ordered to be flown at Half Staff to honor fallen police officers. But that changed by Friday.
The White House explained that this was because of a quirk that occurs around once every six years, when Police Week and Armed Forces Day occur the same weekend. The flag is flown full-mast for Armed Forces Week, but some commentators took it as a further snub to cops.
'The American people deserve to know who lobbied the White House for this despicable change,' Mast tweeted. 'Whose anti-police pressure did the White House cave to? The far-left Twitter mob is truly running the country.'
Kayleigh McEnany, Donald Trump's White House press secretary, retweet Mast and said, 'This is UNBELIEVABLE. In case you had any question as to where President Biden stands on police, now you know...'
Right-wing pundits Lou Dobbs and Tim Murtaugh echoed their statements.
Dobbs tweeted that Biden furthered division with his police week remarks, and Murtaugh said, "Biden had a choice to make: 1) Stick with his original call for flags to fly at half staff to honor fallen police officers, or 2) Bend a knee to the Defund-the-Police crowd and back down. Guess which one he chose."
Florida Republican Rep. Brian Mast tweeted somewhere between May 10 and May 14, orders to fly flags at Half Staff to honor fallen police officers changed
The president started his Peace Officers Memorial Day and Police Week remarks thanking law enforcement for the sacrifice and hard work, especially during the coronavirus pandemic.
'Every morning, our Nation's law enforcement officers pin on a badge and go to work, not knowing what the day will bring, and hoping to come home safely,' Biden said.
But his tone shifted by the middle of his statement, which focused on changing policing and holding officers accountable for misconduct.
All levels of government and law enforcement 'must protect constitutional rights, ensure accountability for misconduct and embrace policing that reflects community values and ensures community safety.'
Some Democrat lawmakers, like California Rep. Eric Swalwell, called out Republican congress leaders for inaction during police week.
Swalwell sent a letter - signed by over 100 politicians - to Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy to renew Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone's request to meet with them.
Fanone was beaten during the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection and was seen on bodycam footage pleading, 'I got kids' while he was being brutalized by the mob.
Swalwell tweeted on May 13, 'Today, I led over 100 of my colleagues in a letter to @GOPleader demanding that he meet with Officer Michael Fanone. Officer Fanone fought to save Kevin’s life on January 6. The least he could do is call him back.'
Democrat Rep. Tim Moulton, of Massachusetts, who was one of the people who signed the letter, retweeted Swalwell and said, 'During National Police Week, I am proud to have co-signed this letter calling on the @GOPLeader to meet with Officer Michael Fanone who was savagely beaten while protecting Members of Congress during the Jan 6th. insurrection."
Two days later, Swalwell tweeted, "UPDATE: I just checked in with Officer Mike Fanone to see if McCarthy has reached out for a meeting. Answer: Crickets. What a disgrace. Don’t say you back the blue when you won’t meet the blue. #PoliceWeek.'
Law enforcement across the country came under fire in May 2020 after the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police Department cop Derek Chauvin.
Since then, other high profile police killings of black Americans - including the March 2020 shooting of Breonna Taylor the 2019 killing of Colorado massage therapist Elijah McClain and the June 2020 shooting of Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta - have sparked discussions and protest over interactions between black Americans and cops.
Recent killings - including the shootings of 16 year-old Ma'Khia Bryant in Ohio, and father of 10 Andrew Brown in North Carolina - have kept the issue at the top of the political agenda.
Anti-police brutality campaigners say cops should be 'defunded', with cash slashed from their budgets reassigned to community programs like mental health services.
Pro-police advocates say doing so would make many areas less safe, with progressive left-wingers 'Defund the police' message blamed for narrowing Joe Biden's victory over Donald Trump in last November's election.
Protests in Times Square confronted police during a protest on May 30, 2020
Police prepared for violent demonstrations in Minneapolis last May
Biden's Police Week statement was seen by conservatives and police supporters as a slap in the face
After Chauvin was found guilty, Biden told the nation that the verdict sends the message that no one is 'above the law', as he demanded new action to honor Floyd after a killing he called a 'stain on the nation's soul.'
'No one should be above the law. And today's verdict sends that message. But it's not enough. It can't stop here,' Biden said at the time.
Nearly a month later, the president proclaimed May 15, 2021 as Peace Officers Memorial Day and May 9 through May 15, 2021, as Police Week, typically a time when law enforcement is honored.
Former presidents Barak Obama and Donald Trump didn't allude to police controversy in their remarks, but Biden did and used this year's police week to say the current way of policing needs to change.
'We must also stop tasking law enforcement with problems that are far beyond their jurisdictions. From providing emergency health care to resolving school discipline issues, our communities rely on the police to perform services that often should be the duty of other institutions,' Biden said.
'We then accuse the police of failure when responsibility lies with public policy choices they did not make.'
Biden said supporting law enforcement is not about thanking a police officer, but investing in 'underfunded' public systems that provide health care, counseling, housing, education and social service.
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