Obama appeared on stage with more than 100 uniformed Denver area cops as a backdrop, cops that should have been on the streets protecting the public
Many if not most American police chiefs become political pawns at the hands of those who appointed them to their positions – either a mayor, a city administrator or a city council. Those chiefs know that if they do not abide by the wishes of their appointing authority, they will soon be shown out the door. Thus, if a high ranking state or national official comes to town and wants some of the local cops as props for a speech, those cops will be there in uniform, like it or not.
On Wednesday, President Obama went to Colorado to revive a sagging gun control campaign. He delivered his speech on a stage at the Denver police academy, surrounded by more than 100 uniformed Denver area cops. According to Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith, most of those cops were coerced by their police chiefs to provide a background for the president’s speech. Smith says those officers should have been on the streets performing regular police duties, not acting as props for a political speech.
Prior to the Obama’s speech, Sheriff Smith appeared together with 15 other Colorado sheriffs at a Denver rally held by the sheriffs to protest against the President’s gun control proposals. Smith told the audience that Obama and the Democrats are exploiting the deadly shooting tragedies at an Aurora movie theater and Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. He also criticized the recent gun control measures passed by Colorado’s Democratic controlled legislature and signed by Gov. John Hickenlooper, saying that they would not have prevented those mass shootings.
After Obama’s speech, Sheriff Smith was interviewed on a Fox News show hosted by Greta Van Susteren. Here is a partial transcript of that interview:
GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, FOX NEWS: Well, you just saw today in Colorado, President Obama using Denver police officers as a backdrop for his gun control speech. Cops as props? A lot of police officers were not happy with the president, including Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith. He joins us. Good evening, sir.
JUSTIN SMITH, LARIMER COUNTY SHERIFF: Good evening, Greta.
VAN SUSTEREN: Nice to see you. And Sheriff, presidents from both sides of the aisles have been doing it for decades, using people as props for their points. Today, it's sort of cops as props and -- what do you think about it?
SMITH: You know, I agree with the line-level. Denver police officers that I spoke with that it was completely inappropriate. These officers have a job to do. They should be on the street protecting their community, not used as political props. The officers I talked to were disgusted that they had been coerced and cajoled into trying to get them on to be on stage.
VAN SUSTEREN: You know, some of the police officers didn't show up today, or didn't stand by the president. Is that in part because of the very sort of controversial new gun control law in Colorado? Is that what is sort of distressing some police officers or members of law enforcement?
SMITH: Absolutely, Greta. That's what really went over the edge. I personally spoke with some officers that came out to the rally that the sheriffs and I -- Colorado sheriffs held, and they told us that they were adamantly opposed to these gun-grabbing measures that the president's pushed on Colorado, and they were really disgusted by the idea of being pushed up there. They let us know in no uncertain terms. They weren't allowed to stand with the sheriffs standing up for their community, but we're told it was in their best interests to be at the Denver Police Academy in uniform, trying to represent his views.
VAN SUSTEREN: So did police officers actually feel pressured to be there, police officers and law enforcement who didn't want to be there?
SMITH: Absolutely, Greta. I talked to two officers that didn't wish to be identified. In addition to the stories you've already heard, they told me personally -- one of them said he told his superior he'd call in sick before he would come in and represent views that he thought truly were very wrong views out there. I also heard that the Aurora police department got messages from their chief wanting them to show up in uniform, as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment