Free Republic

Asheville’s recently announced 17.4 percent spike in violent crime for 2022 over the previous year was totally predictable, local Fraternal Order of Police President Rondell Lance told the Daily Planet during an April 8 telephone interview. More specifically, Lance, who is retired after a lengthy career in police work, explained that the city, along with Buncombe County, has fostered an environment where criminals know they can break the law and face little or no consequences for their actions. Asheville’s skyrocketing violent crime last year was driven largely by aggravated assaults, Asheville Police Chief David Zack noted during the city’s March...

Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH), running against Republican J.D. Vance for Ohio’s open U.S. Senate seat, reportedly has an “ongoing problem” with law enforcement, according to the head of the Buckeye States’ top police union. The Daily Mail reported that the head of Columbus Fraternal Order of Police said the congressman’s “trend of confrontational police encounters” has been an “ongoing problem,” citing the various situations Ryan has gotten into over the years.

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz’s campaign got a boost on Wednesday when he received the endorsement of the Pennsylvania State Lodge Fraternal Order of Police. During a campaign swing through Erie, Oz dropped in on the PA FOP’s conference and accepted the endorsement of a group that represents 40,000 active and retired members. In a statement released by his campaign, Oz said he was honored to have the FOP’s endorsement. “We owe each and every officer who bravely serves our deepest thanks,” said Oz. “Throughout my career as a cardiothoracic surgeon, I operated on brave police officers who...

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot will give city workers who didn’t get their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by Sunday a chance to get the shot before placing them on no-pay status, she said Monday. Lightfoot implemented a rule requiring city workers get vaccinated by March 13 or lose pay. Asked Monday how the city would enforce its policies, Lightfoot said supervisors would call workers in to verify that they aren’t vaccinated and give them an opportunity to comply. They will then be given an order to get vaccinated and if they don’t, she said, then they’ll be placed on...

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Friday that she took her fight with the head of the city’s police officers union to court, arguing that his call for officers to ignore the order to report their COVID-19 vaccination status was illegal. The mayor said in a statement that the city’s law department filed a complaint in Cook County Circuit Court for injunctive relief against Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara, whom she accused of “engaging in, supporting and encouraging work stoppage or strike.” Lightfoot asked the court to prohibit the union and its officers from “engaging in...

Chicago Police officers have waited more than three years for a new contract and the retroactive pay raise that comes with it. The first substantive offer they got from Mayor Lori Lightfoot was hardly worth the wait, according to their fiery union president. Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara said he stormed away from Tuesday’s long-awaited negotiating session after the mayor’s team offered his members the same 10% pay raise over four years already awarded to Chicago firefighters in exchange for higher health care contributions — but tacked on 17 pages, including 40 disciplinary reforms. Catanzara was so insulted...

The nation’s largest police union, along with its Chicago chapter, has endorsed Republican President Donald Trump’s reelection bid, potentially helping to boost his law-and-order message. While the endorsement might have been expected, it further illustrates a division between law enforcement and protesters who for months have railed against police brutality and called for racial justice after the killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. The endorsement isn’t likely to hold much sway for Trump in heavily Democratic Chicago, but John Catanzara, president of the local FOP and an outspoken Trump backer, is happy to antagonize the likes...

"...Phone recordings of the incident show police officers booing Fischer when he walked into a large room full of officers who were arriving for the night shift Wednesday afternoon. The vast majority of the officers walked out leaving the mayor alone with some who did stay to speak with him. Ryan Nichols, president of the Fraternal Order of Police in River City, a fraternity of law enforcement officers, told WAVE 3 News that officers in the LMPD do not feel the mayor's support in the midst of the protests...." "...The LMPD first came under fire after the death of Breonna...

This was amusing, amazing and just an all around joy to watch: In a speech to police chiefs from across the country, President Donald Trump on Monday criticized Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson for skipping the event, saying “more than anyone else, this person should be here, because maybe he could learn something.” Johnson last week said he would not attend the president’s speech at the International Association of Chiefs of Police conference at McCormick Place, “because the values of the people of Chicago are more important than anything that he would have to say.” “That’s a very insulting statement...

Chuck is a 25-year veteran of law enforcement, including serving as the firearm instructor for his department in Horry County, S.C. He chartered the Local Coastal Carolina FOP lodge in 1984 and rose through the FOP ranks to become national president in 2003. Canterbury`s son is following in his footsteps by serving with the Horry County Police Department. They also share a passion for waterfowl hunting in the Myrtle Beach area, where they both live. I was pleased to catch up with Chuck when he visited Washington recently. Cox: "Chuck, it`s great to visit with you. The NRA has been...

The National Fraternal Order of Police won’t boycott Nike, but they made it crystal clear that they won’t stand for the company’s controversial Colin Kaepernick ad. In a press release deliberately titled, “Believe In Something Even If It Means Sacrificing Everything,” Chuck Canterbury, National President of the Fraternal Order of Police, issued a powerful dismissal of the Nike ad – and completely humiliated Kaepernick in the process. “The Fraternal Order of Police has been called upon to boycott Nike for capitalizing on this former professional football player because he attracts controversy,” Canterbury says in the release. “In our experience, boycotts...

House Democrats shared their new campaign slogan for 2018, per Politico: "For the People." Why it matters: Dems are trying to capture what they stand for by simplifying their economy-focused "A Better Deal" message, but neither slogan will inspire Democratic voters the way Trump's "Make America Great Again" broke through with Republicans. Show less Yes, but: Take it from Rep. Cheri Bustos, who told Politico that no one is "claiming this is poetic ... It’s just a way, in a quick way, to put together the answer to what we stand for.” The message will focus on using infrastructure to...

The Fraternal Order of Police district that includes Broward County has dropped U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, from its endorsements. Instead, the big police union said it’s endorsing Carlos Reyes, one of three Republicans seeking his party’s nomination to challenge Wasserman Schultz in the Broward/Miami-Dade County 23rd Congressional District. ...the FOP district said it endorses “people who have supported or will support the FOP and its mission. Both parties have endorsements along with non-partisan” contests. Others use it as a different kind of guide, which one reader posted on the FOP’s Facebook page: “Pretty easy for me. Vote against...

It started when Jasmin Floyd was on her way to kindergarten and complained of a stiff neck. The family had just moved to Connecticut, but it turned out to be the beginning of the mother and daughter’s worst nightmare — it was when Floyd’s body began trapping her inside itself. Floyd was diagnosed with FOP (Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva), which is known as the mannequin disease, according to CNN. It is causing Floyd to grow a second skeleton, as her ligaments and muscle slowly turn to bone. It’s a rare disease that affects 1 in two million people and it is...

The country’s largest police union, which endorsed Donald Trump for president, is wary of his stance on a key campaign issue: his promise to withhold funds from so-called “sanctuary cities.” As part of his first 100-days action plan, Mr. Trump has pledged to block all federal funding to jurisdictions that shield illegal immigrants. But in recent days, mayors and police chiefs in major cities across the country have pledged to stand behind their sanctuary city policies in defiance of Mr. Trump’s plans. The stance creates a conundrum for the National Fraternal Order of Police — which doesn’t support the sanctuary...

Black Lives Matter gathered in front of the Cleveland police union headquarters Tuesday evening to protest the union’s endorsement of Republican nominee Donald Trump. There were reportedly dozens, and maybe over 100, protesters gathered outside of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association (CPPA), out of concern the endorsement would elevate mistrust among minority groups towards law enforcement. The CPPA, which represents 1,450 officers and staff, overwhelmingly voted to endorse the Republican nominee Sept. 30, with Trump receiving 216 votes to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s 68 votes. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani visited the CPPA Tuesday, where he thanked the...

John McNesby, the President of the Philadelphia FOP, discussed their endorsement of Donald Trump for President over Hillary Clinton and criticized the Democratic nominee for not engaging with them in their selection process. “They didn’t care. Their attitude, then, back in July, during the DNC, was they were going to win this thing anyway, so who cares? Now, I think the tides have turned a little bit and she’s on her heels. As many times as we’ve tried to…have it a fair process and an open process, the emails back were that they’re not interested and no thanks. Just snide...

Donald Trump, who has called himself the "law-and-order" candidate, secured the endorsement Friday of the National Fraternal Order of Police, the nation's largest police union. "He understands and supports our priorities and our members believe he will make America safe again," wrote Chuck Canterbury, president of the National Fraternal Order of Police, in the union's endorsement letter.

The nation's largest police union on Friday endorsed Donald Trump for president, lauding his commitment to police officers. The Fraternal Order of Police gave the GOP presidential nominee its endorsement after he received support from more than two-thirds of the group's national board. "[Trump] has seriously looked at the issues facing law enforcement today. He understands and supports our priorities and our members believe he will make America safe again," said Chuck Canterbury, the FOP's national president. "He's made a real commitment to America's law enforcement and we're proud to make a commitment to him and his campaign by endorsing...

Why am I concerned with the prospect of Hillary Rodham Clinton as President of the United States? Let me begin to count the reasons. For many years I have been a sworn police officer. Mrs. Clinton’s dislike of police has long been a matter of record. From her contempt for the Arkansas troopers on her bodyguard detail when her husband was governor of that state, to the disdain with which she treated Secret Service when she was in the White House, to her campaign’s recent announcement that it was not interested in an endorsement by the Fraternal Order of Police,...