President Donald Trump can add another police union boss to his long list of supporters.
“Donald Trump has our back. President Trump has supported us when so many people have turned against us,” New York State Troopers PBA President Thomas Mungeer told the New York Post.
The union represents 4,000 state police troopers and is overseen by Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a well known critic of the president.
“Joe Biden supported cops in the past but he’s turned his back on us,” said Mungeer. “Biden has taken anti-police stands that pander to his base.”
Mungeer added that Joe Biden wanting to reform qualified immunity, which protects police officers from being sued civilly for misconduct, also contributed in his decision to support Donald Trump’s reelection.
“No one is going to want to become a cop if he faces frivolous lawsuits,” Mungeer said.
He also added that his officers have also been restricted in doing their jobs due to reforms from New York Democratic lawmakers.
“My members have been seriously handcuffed from doing their jobs,” Mungeer said. “It is the people who are going to suffer. The people who need us the most. The silent majority supports law enforcement but they’ve been silent for too long.”
The New York City Police Benevolent Association also announced its support for the President earlier this month.
“I cannot remember when we’ve ever endorsed for the office of the president of the United States until now — that’s how important this is,” PBA President Pat Lynch said while announcing the endorsement at Trump’s Bedminster golf club in New Jersey. “We need your strong voice across the country.”
New York City, in particular, has seen an uptick in crime this summer, with some of the violence directed at officers. An anti-police sentiment in the city has also contributed to the increase in officers filing their retirement papers, amid protests and riots sparked by the death of George Floyd.
Lynch has said that police officers are “at their breaking point, whether they have 20 years on the job or only two. We are all asking the same question: ‘How can we keep doing our job in this environment?’ And that is exactly what the anti-cop crowd wants. If we have no cops because no one wants to be a cop, they will have achieved their ultimate goal.”
