Police Unions Exposed

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Bob Kroll - leader of MPLS police union - is violent and racist. He has to go.
Minneapolis police officers shouldn’t allow someone like Kroll to represent them, and elected officials shouldn’t tolerate police union leadership that promotes bigotry and violence, and blocks accountability and reform. Kroll, like many police union leaders, is notorious for defending dangerous and abusive cops, resisting any form of accountability for police officers, and doing everything possible to block reform. He has worn a white supremacist badge, associated with other white supremacist cops, made many racist statements, and committed unprovoked brutality himself. After the city of Minneapolis recently banned “warrior-style” training -- referred to by its proponents as “killology” -- Kroll went out of his way to attack the decision and continue providing the training to cops. The former police chief of Minneapolis has called on Kroll to resign. Kroll and the police union he leads aren’t unique. The Minneapolis police union -- like police unions across the country -- fights against police reform and accountability tooth and nail. They routinely defend violent and abusive officers, and often succeed in getting violent cops reinstated after they are fired. They use their political power to fight reform, and win contracts that effectively put police above the law. They attack and threaten anyone who dares to challenge the police, including activists, elected officials, and everyday people. It’s time to confront police unions and expose their role in perpetuating police brutality, shielding violent police from accountability, and blocking common-sense reform. Confronting Bob Kroll and the Minneapolis police union is the first step in challenging the power of police unions across the country. By forcing Kroll out of leadership at the Minneapolis Police Federation, we can send a powerful message to police unions everywhere: if you continue to promote and defend police violence, your power will be taken away.

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Created by James Rucker
This cop killed a child. He doesn't deserve a badge.
Cleveland police officer Timothy Loehmann shot my 12 year old son — Tamir Rice — less than one second after getting out of his car. Now Cleveland’s police union wants him back on the force. The Cleveland police department’s investigation after Loehmann murdered Tamir revealed that Loehmann had lied on his job application, claiming he left another police department (in Independence, Ohio) for “personal reasons.” In fact, he had resigned from the Independence Police Department when he learned they were going to fire him — because they had determined he was unstable and unfit to be a police officer. After discovering this lie, the Cleveland Police department fired Loehmann — but Cleveland’s police union immediately appealed the decision and is trying to get him reinstated. An arbitrator recently ruled against Loehmann and the police union’s attempt to get him back on Cleveland’s police force. That would usually be the end of it — but the police union is still fighting to make Loehmann a police officer again. Timothy Loehmann should never have been hired, and he should never have been in a position to take Tamir’s life. He’s unstable, dishonest, dangerous, and he’s already killed unjustly and recklessly. He definitely shouldn’t be on the streets with a badge and gun, and ever since he murdered Tamir I’ve been fighting to make sure that doesn’t happen. When Loehmann tried to get a job at another police department in Ohio, he was forced to withdraw his application after I spoke out, along with thousands of people in Ohio and across the country. Now it’s time for us to speak out again. Far too often, police unions succeed in quietly getting corrupt and dangerous officers back in their jobs after the public’s attention has moved on. That’s what they’re trying to do here. We can stop it from happening — and make it less likely in the future — by publicly confronting the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association.

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Created by Samaria Rice
Aurora, CO: Demand justice for Elijah McClain and say NO to police unions
Aurora, Colorado’s police force is clearly dangerous — and it’s enabled by unaccountable police union leaders who prioritize abusive officers over true community safety. It’s time for the mayor, the police chief, and the city council to rein them in. Aurora officers murdered Elijah McClain almost a year ago. A few months later officers mocked and glorified the killing. Then just last month, community members holding a peaceful vigil of violin players — honoring McClain’s life and protesting his murder — were attacked by Aurora police in riot gear, with batons and pepper spray. The police unions’ response? Marc Sears, president of Aurora’s Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) went on offense, dismissing public criticism as completely unfounded and repeatedly attacking the city’s first openly LGBTQ city council member who has dared call for accountability. The Aurora Police Association, the city’s other police union, which has been silent since McClain’s death, finally spoke up last week — only to complain about the firing of one of the officers and launch a barrage of personal attacks on the police chief, not just decrying her actions but questioning her integrity. As these atrocities have come to light, there’s been no contrition, no apology, and far too little accountability. And Aurora’s police unions have been solely concerned with knee-jerk defense of officers and deflecting any honest conversation about the problems with the department and long-overdue reform. Mayor Mike Coffman says he’s committed to stopping police violence in Aurora and creating real change. But that can’t happen through negotiation between the city and Aurora’s police unions. Like police unions across the country, Aurora’s union leaders perpetuate a violent and unaccountable police culture, routinely defend abusive cops, try to win contracts that effectively put police above the law, and do everything they can to block reform. If they’re given influence over the process, they will block any meaningful change. If Coffman and the city council are serious, they’ll follow the lead of the mayor of Minneapolis and stop any negotiations with police unions about accountability and reform. If we can convince the city of Aurora to stop letting the police unions bargain over the policies and reforms that could hold police accountable, it will help pave the way for real change in Aurora, and send a message to other cities that they can break free of the power of police unions and finally have an opportunity for real change.

54,846 of 75,000 Signatures

Created by James Rucker
The head of Chicago’s FOP is defending Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol. He has to go, NOW
The violent attack on the US Capitol by Trump supporters—incited by Trump and his allies—was an attempt to violently overturn the results of the election. It left at least five people dead and threatened the lives of members of Congress, top government officials, Capitol police officers, and everyone who works at the Capitol. Rioters armed with guns, mace, handcuffs, and tactical gear entered the Capitol, and almost reached areas where members of Congress and others were hiding. Catanzara is defending the rioters, justifying and normalizing their attack on the Capitol, and downplaying the threat they posed. It’s dangerous, and needs to be stopped. When law enforcement signals to right wing militias and white supremacists that they’re on the same side, it encourages more serious acts of violence and sends the message that they may get away with it. Last year, we saw how this escalated violence in Kenosha, Portland, and elsewhere, with tragic results. Catanzara is making it more likely this will happen again, and at the same time he’s making it nearly impossible for people in Chicago to trust their police force. Here are a few quotes from Catanzara: • “Do I support [the Capitol attack]? I wouldn’t have partaken in it. They’re individuals. They get to do what they want. Again, they were voicing frustration. They’re entitled to voice their frustration.” • “They clearly have been ignored and they’re still being ignored as if they’re lunatics and treasonous now, which is beyond stupid.” • “Do I support the frustration? Listen, I don’t have any doubt that something shady happened in this election. You’re not going to convince me that that many people voted for Joe Biden. Never for the rest of my life will you ever convince me of that.” • “If the worst crime [at the Capitol] is trespassing, so be it.” • “it’s an inconvenience at this point, is all it is.” After Catanzara made these statements, it was reported that a Capitol Police officer died as a result of the riot. This is outrageous, but not surprising. Catanzara himself has had more than 35 official complaints against him as a police officer, and been suspended 6 times. He marched alongside white supremacists and QAnon supporters, and he is already being investigated by the Police Board for racist and violent social media posts, including one where he said Muslims “all deserve a bullet.” Chicago’s FOP and other police unions have long promoted violent, unaccountable, and authoritarian policing - and they viciously attack activists and political leaders who are pushing for change. During this election, Chicago’s FOP, the national FOP, and many other police unions endorsed Trump and waged a campaign of fear, lies, and inflammatory rhetoric to promote his re-election, and the authoritarianism he stands for. Chicago’s FOP in particular is notorious for attacking, intimidating, and threatening activists and political leaders who get in their way - and under Catanzara’s leadership, its actions have been more extreme and dangerous than ever. It’s time for Catanzara to be fired as a police officer and removed from his position as leader of Chicago’s FOP. Join us in calling on Chicago city leaders to publicly call for his removal and do everything in their power to make it happen.

3,852 of 4,000 Signatures

Created by Police Unions Exposed
The head of Buffalo’s police union is threatening the city & defending police violence—he has to go.
John Evans recently announced that police are no longer proactively doing their jobs because they don’t have “any support from the administration,” and that it’s the reason for a recent spike in shootings in Buffalo. He’s effectively trying to hold the city hostage. It’s outrageous, and it’s a classic tactic of out-of-control police unions, reminiscent of organized crime: stop holding us accountable, or we might not protect you. This is just the latest from John Evans — he and his supporters in the police department are already under major scrutiny. Many of us have seen the video from June of riot police in Buffalo pushing down a 75-year-old man and leaving him bleeding on the ground. The police department’s initial statement — before the video surfaced — said he “was injured when he tripped & fell.” After the video came to light and the officers who pushed him were suspended, 57 officers from the same riot response team resigned from that unit — not to protest the violence, but to actually SUPPORT the officers who committed it, and to protest their suspension. It turns out they weren’t acting on their own — it was John Evans who pressured them all to resign, and he threatened to stop supporting them if they refused. Just a few weeks later, Evans is now coming to the defense of Lieutenant Mike DeLong, a Buffalo officer who was just suspended for harassing a woman on camera, calling her a “little f***ing c***,” and threatening to come to her workplace. After the incident, officers followed the woman and pulled her car over — a clear intimidation tactic. Evans says DeLong was “caught in a weak moment,” that he knows DeLong well, and “I don’t think you’ll see Lieutenant DeLong involved in anything like that again.” But in reality DeLong has a long history of misconduct, including 36 complaints made against him (with 13 related to use of force), he’s been suspended four times (including in 2018 for an “off-duty domestic” incident), and likely avoided discipline on many other occasions with the help of the police union John Evans leads. Defending police misconduct is nothing new for Evans. In 2016, he wrote a blog post blaming the victims of police brutality: “Comply with our orders and you won't get yourself killed. Enough!!!” The post went on to excuse several high profile police killings of Black men: “The Alton Sterling incident was a necessary, justified, use of force. That and the Michael Brown and Eric Garner incidents were clearly avoidable, had they complied with the Police Officers.” Black Lives Matter protesters confronted Evans and demanded that he take the post down; he refused. Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said “The Buffalo police union is on the wrong side of history … They have been a barrier to further police reform in the city of Buffalo, and that barrier that the police union presents needs to be addressed.” He’s right — if we want to transform policing, it’s time to confront police unions everywhere. Join us in demanding that Buffalo’s political leaders, police leadership, and rank and file police officers denounce Buffalo Police Benevolent Association president John Evans and publicly call for his removal as president of the Buffalo PBA.

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Created by James Rucker
This police union leader assaulted an unarmed, handcuffed man. Demand his removal.
Michael McGrath — president of the Somerville, Massachusetts police union, and VP of a Massachusetts coalition of police unions — was just charged with assault and battery for pepper spraying a handcuffed man. It’s been a year since the assault, and the police unions he leads have taken no action against him. When bodycam video of the assault was released recently, they tried to ignore questions from the media. Somerville’s mayor said he and the police chief both believe McGrath’s actions are “unacceptable” and they “will not tolerate any unnecessary use of force” — but they could fire him, and they haven’t. McGrath leads the Somerville Police Employees Association, and is a Vice President of the Massachusetts Municipal Police Coalition. Police unions like these help violent police officers get away with brutality all the time. Right now, they’re hoping that attention to this case fades and they can get away with doing nothing. But we can force them to make a choice: take action against McGrath, or be known for supporting police brutality, and face the consequences. Police unions like to act tough. But when it comes time to negotiate their next pay raise, block popular police reform measures, or shield an officer from accountability, their reputation and political standing matters. By confronting these police unions publicly, we can make sure they pay a price for standing by a union leader who is being prosecuted for assaulting someone who posed no threat. We can also make it easier for the mayor, police chief, and other officials to stand up to them — in this case, in other cases of police misconduct, and when it’s time to fight for systemic change. Join us in calling on Somerville’s mayor and police chief to stand up to the police unions and take action to hold Mike McGrath accountable.

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Created by Police Unions Exposed
No Police Unions at the Table!
As a candidate, Joe Biden promised that he would take “real action” on police reform. But now, as President, he is consulting with police unions, arguably the biggest enemies of police accountability, reform, and justice. Even worse, the Biden administration is actually touting police unions’ support for their approach to police reform, welcoming police unions into the conversation, and reinforcing the false idea that police unions are reasonable actors who deserve a voice in conversations about police accountability. It’s dangerous and it needs to be called out—if the Biden administration is serious about change, they can’t afford to give police unions an opportunity to sabotage reform. Biden, in his first address as President-elect, said this: "The African American community stood up again for me. You’ve always had my back, and I’ll have yours." As millions of protesting Americans—especially Black Americans—have shown, police accountability is an incredibly urgent issue, one that will remain a top priority until real reform is passed. But as long as police unions are taken seriously in any policymaking, any such reform will stay impossible. Police unions are a dangerous obstacle to achieving even the most basic progress. We’re urging the Biden administration to do the right thing: publicly denounce the role that police unions have played in stifling efforts for accountability and commit to not giving them a seat at the table as the issue of police reform is negotiated and pursued.

266 of 300 Signatures

Created by James Rucker
No more white supremacist cops - no matter what the police unions say. Demand action now.
Those who attacked the Capitol, democracy, and the rule of law—resulting in at least 5 deaths — had help and even encouragement from some members of law enforcement. Intelligence experts have warned for years about a major, growing problem with white supremacists and other far-right extremists in law enforcement. But police unions have fought and undermined attempts to investigate the problem and fire violent, racist, anti-government, and white supremacist extremists. Several prominent police union leaders have associated with white supremacists, and police unions often perpetuate a culture of violence and impunity. They do everything possible to shield officers from accountability, including officers who are compromised by bias, racism, and connections to white supremacists groups. Police unions have successfully defended officers who used racial slurs, who made posts calling for racist violence, and who have white supremacist tattoos. They have kept these officers in their jobs, on the streets with a badge and gun, and in a position to carry out violence against groups they hate (or to simply fail to protect them). This must change. The consequences of failing to address white supremacist infiltration of the police are clearer than ever. It puts all of us in danger and threatens the basic functioning of our government and democracy. Join us in calling on law enforcement leaders—police chiefs, sheriffs, and others—to root out white supremacists and extremists in the agencies they lead, and directly confront any attempts by police unions to undermine the process or protect dangerous police officers.

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Created by Police Unions Exposed
Seattle police union leader blames the Capitol riot on Black Lives Matter. He needs to go - NOW
The day after the violent attack and coup attempt at Capitol Hill, Mike Solan sent a tweet blaming Black Lives Matter for what happened. When he was challenged, he doubled down, saying that both the left and the right were responsible. By making these claims, Solan is lifting up a false and dangerous right-wing conspiracy theory that attempts to confuse the story of what happened and redirect blame towards people of color and the political left. It’s outrageous, but not surprising. Solan has consistently made appearances on right wing media to attack Black Lives Matter, defend violent and abusive police, and encourage a violent, authoritarian crackdown on anti-racist protesters. Meanwhile, Seattle’s Office of Police Accountability is already investigating 11 current Seattle police officers who attended the Trump rally that led to the attack on the Capitol. If that investigation finds that some officers participated in the attack, it’s likely that Solan will defend those officers and try to keep them in their jobs. The Seattle Mayor’s office issued a strong statement condemning Solan’s comments and calling on him to apologize or resign: “The SPOG President’s statement is wrong, immoral, and a lie. The violent and seditious actions we all witnessed were done by anti-government mobs, inspired and directed by President Trump and his legion of enablers. His statements do a huge disservice to the hundreds of police officers who work daily to serve the public and the rule of law, believe in equality, and were disgusted by Wednesday’s events. His statements do not reflect the values of the City of Seattle but instead echo the failed lies of a failed presidency. In fact, every officer at the Seattle Police Department has an obligation to not ‘post-speech that negatively impacts the Department’s ability to serve the public.’ As we expect this incident to be investigated by OPA, Solan should retract his statements and apologize or resign.” It’s a step in the right direction, but city leaders should push in no uncertain terms for Solan to be fired or removed from his positions as a police officer and police union leader. An apology would be meaningless, and not believable coming from Solan. If the city of Seattle wants police leadership it can trust, Solan needs to go.

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Created by Police Unions Exposed
Rochester cops attack mother and 3 year old—police union won’t condemn it
After defending police officers who pepper-sprayed a 9-year-old girl, Rochester police union president Mike Mazzeo is now refusing to condemn officers who just attacked a mother and her toddler—including some of the same officers involved in pepper-spraying the 9-year-old. These are the latest incidents in a pattern of horrific police violence against Black people in Rochester, and Mazzeo has consistently worked to deflect accountability for police officers, excuse their conduct, and shift blame to city leaders. Mazzeo’s message to Rochester police officers is clear: use reckless violence against Rochester’s Black residents, and I will defend you, no matter the impact or consequences of your actions. In just a few months in Rochester, we can see how Mazzeo’s actions have excused police violence against Black people in the city: • In September, Mazzeo defended the officers who mocked, suffocated, and killed Daniel Prude, saying they did nothing wrong. • In January, Mazzeo defended the officers who abused and pepper sprayed a terrified, crying 9-year-old girl. • Just weeks later, Rochester officers viciously attack a mother and her girl after falsely accusing the mother of shoplifting—and Mazzeo has refused to condemn it, or push for any kind of accountability. If Mazzeo can excuse this kind of horrific police violence and remain the leader of the police union, it paves the way for Rochester police to continue committing acts of violence against Rochester residents, and makes achieving accountability for police and the enactment of necessary reforms nearly impossible. Mike Mazzeo has to go. Please join us in calling on Rochester’s Mayor, Chief of Police, City Council members, and Police Accountability Board to force Mazzeo’s departure, now.

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Created by Police Unions Exposed