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 mid-
June 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.
144 The TRUMP RALLY Publication