FACT CHECK: Did The Fraternal Order Of Police Rescind Their Endorsement Of Trump Following Jan. 6 Pardons?

A viral post shared on X claims the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) rescinded their endorsement of President Donald Trump following recent pardons Trump issued to individuals involved in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. I don’t think it’s a big enough story that The Fraternal Order of Police, the largest police […]

Blaze News original: 'Defund the police' dying out, but cop-hatred from Dems, media still going strong



Anti-police sentiment remains a major problem in America, several past and present members of law enforcement told Blaze News, despite waning support for the "defund the police" movement and the impending second term of President-elect Donald Trump, who has long been seen as a friend to law enforcement.

While the number of officers killed in the line of duty has dipped in the last couple years, the number skyrocketed in the aftermath of the May 2020 death of George Floyd, the re-emergence of Black Lives Matter, and the calls from Democrats and activists across the country to defund police departments.

According to the Officer Down Memorial Page, a police nonprofit, an alarming 722 officers died in connection with their professional responsibilities in 2020, though that number includes 285 officers who died from COVID-19.

Thankfully, the total number of duty-related blue deaths dwindled to just 137 in 2024, the lowest number recorded at ODMP in the last 10 years.

'They ambushed him': Deputy Bradley Reckling

Though police fatalities are down overall, verbal and physical attacks on police continue in earnest. In fact, the number of gun-related officer deaths has remained fairly consistent over the last decade, averaging about 57 per year and reaching a high of 63 in 2021 and 2022.

And that number includes only those who lost their lives on account of their injuries. It notably does not include those who were wounded but survived, according to Officer Dave Goitia, a 23-year veteran who recently made the switch to full-time labor work as president of the Fraternal Order of Police in Glendale and the second vice president of the Arizona Fraternal Order of Police.

"The numbers of police officers who are shot in the line of duty, for example ... has been rising pretty significantly over the past four years," Goitia told Blaze News. "It doesn't necessarily mean that they were killed, but just the number of shots has been on the rise."

While abstract numbers can at times obscure the painful reality of officers wounded or killed in the line of duty, Sheriff Michael Bouchard (R) and the rest of his office in Oakland County, Michigan, learned firsthand the devastating effects of losing one of their own at the hands of a violent suspect.

On June 22, 2024, Oakland County Deputy Bradley Reckling, 30, was shot and killed while conducting an investigation into a possible auto theft in Detroit in neighboring Wayne County.

Sheriff Bouchard told Blaze News that the auto-theft investigation began, like thousands of others do, with several detectives arriving separately on the scene "in the middle of the night."

"[Reckling] just came across the car first," Bouchard explained, "then they ambushed him."

Deputy Reckling, a nine-year veteran, left behind a pregnant wife and three children. Three 18-year-olds were later arrested and charged in connection with his death.

Bouchard described the murder of Deputy Reckling as a "crushing blow" to everyone at the department.

'This stuff affects us.'

Officer-deaths are also personal for Angel Maysonet, a retired NYPD detective who after 22 and a half years on the force now provides security for the executives of a utility company in a private capacity. In his conversation with Blaze News, Maysonet was able to rattle off the names of five colleagues who died violently while on duty during his tenure with the NYPD and provide minute details regarding the circumstances of their deaths — not to mention, he added, his brother officers who died on September 11, 2001.

"Officers are human," he said. "We're human beings. We have hopes. We have dreams. We have families. We have tragedies. We suffer losses. We celebrate our victories."

"We see officers suffering from PTSD," he continued. "We see officers, especially now that we're in the holidays, taking their own lives. It's happening at an alarming rate right now. We're humans.

"This stuff affects us."

'Unfairly targeted': Politicians fan the flames of outrage

Sheriff Bouchard blames the public's relatively low regard for law enforcement on high-profile politicians who have continuously bad-mouthed officers for using force in cases involving troubled and potentially dangerous individuals, like George Floyd in May 2020.

Maysonet and Goitia, however, believe the problem began much earlier. In their separate conversations with Blaze News, each mentioned President Barack Obama infamously accusing Sgt. James Crowley of acting "stupidly" when responding to an alleged break-in at the home of Harvard Prof. Henry Louis Gates in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 2009. Obama and his vice president, Joe Biden, later hosted a Beer Summit with Crowley and Gates at the White House to discuss their differences.

"[Obama] had no information about what happened at all, no details," Goitia explained. "[He] said that officer 'acted stupidly' and then realized later on what a bad statement that was. So he had to have the Beer Summit."

Maysonet, a one-time Obama voter, also noted that in July 2016, several years after the Cambridge incident, Obama even implicitly aligned himself with some BLM grievances during remarks at a wake honoring five Dallas police officers slain at a BLM rally.

"Faced with this violence, we wonder if the divides of race in America can ever be bridged," Obama said. "We wonder if an African-American community that feels unfairly targeted by police, and police departments that feel unfairly maligned for doing their jobs, can ever understand each other’s experience."

In that speech, Obama also took time to recognize Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, two black men who had died just days earlier during encounters with police. "Today, in this audience, I see people who have protested on behalf of criminal justice reform grieving alongside police officers. I see people who mourn for the five officers we lost but also weep for the families of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile," Obama said.

Sterling, who served five years for tussling with a police officer while armed, was shot and killed by a cop in Baton Rouge on July 5, 2016, after reportedly threatening someone with a gun.

While Castile had no known history of violence, he pled guilty to several traffic violations after having been pulled over more than 50 times. He was shot and killed during a traffic stop for an alleged broken tail light near Minneapolis a day after Sterling died.

'The controversy is what sells.'

Four years later, George Floyd — who served several years behind bars after pointing a firearm at the abdomen of a pregnant woman — died during an encounter with police. At that point, Black Lives Matter stormed back onto the national stage, demanding not only police accountability but a reallocation of resources to starve departments and promote social justice instead.

Many leftist politicians happily trumpeted BLM's call to "defund the police." In October 2021, the Republican National Committee released a nearly seven-minute video of various big-name Democrats — including Vice President Kamala Harris, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, and Reps. Nancy Pelosi of California, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota — embracing the "defund the police" sentiment.

Omar, in fact, went so far as to demand that local governments "dismantle" their police departments and "reimagine" law enforcement and public safety.

In the years since, support for defunding police has plummeted as violent and property crime spiked across America. In fact, some Democrats, such as Reps. Jamaal Bowman of New York and Cori Bush of Missouri, may have even lost their respective seats in part because of their association with the "defund the police" movement.

Other Democrats such as Mayor London Breed of San Francisco and former NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio, who actually implemented policies to defund police, later walked those policies back and restored police funding. Despite the about-face on defunding San Francisco police, Breed still lost her bid for re-election in November.

"They see that it doesn't work," Maysonet said.

Dave Goitia, who was decorated with the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor by then-President George W. Bush, noted that federal lawmakers, state governors, and local mayors are not the only ones who have contributed to anti-police fervor. Far-left district attorneys, many of them funded by George Soros, have likewise exploited their prosecutorial discretion to wreak havoc on public safety to the detriment of local police.

Goitia described these DAs as "soft-on-crime" activists who advocate for "the elimination of certain bail standards" rather than "keeping ... bad actors behind bars."

News reports about officers from around the country who were allegedly shot in 2024 by suspects with a criminal history seem to support his point. Headlines regarding those cases reveal an alarming pattern:

Black Lives Matter did not respond to Blaze News' request for comment.

In addition to pushing local policies that sometimes benefit defendants at the expense of police, the Democratic Biden-Harris administration has also implemented open-border policies that have caused cities to swell with a new population of people who do not understand local laws and customs and who likely already committed a crime when crossing into the U.S.

Moreover, members of violent international criminal organizations like Tren de Aragua have likewise stolen into the country and terrorized local residents. Not only do these violent gangs add considerably to the workload of local police departments, but reports indicate that gang leaders have even put a hit out on cops, making an already dangerous situation even more dangerous for police and residents alike.

"Credible human sources from Colorado provided information on TdA giving a 'green light' to fire on or attack law enforcement," read a memo reportedly released by the Homeland Security Investigations office in Chicago this summer.

Goitia attributes at least some of the violent attacks on police to unfettered immigration. "I think that the border has been a big problem for law enforcement," he said. "We definitely have seen some bad actors coming across this border."

Maysonet agreed. "Gang members ... are coming from Venezuela and being essentially just let loose to commit crimes," he said.

"The big mouths and the anti-police crowd are going to ... continue to place the lives of police officers in this country in danger."

'It's clickbait': Media outlets pile on

The media has also played an important role in creating anti-police animus, Goitia, Bouchard, and Maysonet all told Blaze News.

Maysonet said that the media relentlessly harps on the rare cases of black men who die during encounters with police to stoke racial tensions. "They make it into always a racial issue," he said.

Evidence supports Maysonet's claim.

In 2015, the Washington Post began tracking "fatal police shootings" and providing an updated tally of yearly totals. In describing its methodology, the outlet listed "the race of the deceased" first among the "details" it considers in each incident.

A 2020 episode of "Hidden Brain" on NPR entitled "The Air We Breathe" explored alleged "implicit bias and police shootings." During the episode, panelists noted that protests in the wake of George Floyd's death sparked "a global conversation on the issue of racism and police brutality — especially in communities of color."

In 2021, the BBC published a list of all the "major incidents" of black people dying during an encounter with police in the past decade. The article featured pictures of police in full tactical gear while seemingly unarmed protestors peacefully stand, march, or raise their fists, further promoting the idea of an adversarial relationship between police and their communities.

Goitia argued that the media may even have a vested interest in pushing this narrative. "The controversy is what sells," he told Blaze News.

"It's clickbait, and it garners viewership," he said. "That's what the media is about. They want to have a large audience. They want people looking at their content."

To illustrate his point, Goitia pointed to an article published just this month in U.S. News & World Report that claimed that "black youth with autism" face "special dangers" during "encounters with police."

"If you look into the story, there's zero statistical evidence of this at all," Goitia said. "They spoke with caregivers for black youth with autism, and these caregivers, they had concerns. They had feelings about how those interactions might go based on what we know about people with autism."

He's right. The article is based on a study in which researchers consulted "43 Black caregivers of Black children with autism." The article does not discuss any particular police incidents involving an autistic black child or include the perspective of "a single cop."

Sheriff Bouchard, who is also the vice president of government affairs at the Major County Sheriffs of America organization, similarly called out the "demonization" of cops by "some media outlets."

"It's constant 'police reform,' 'police reform,' 'police reform,' and that rhetoric makes it sound like we're broken, that all cops are doing something that's inappropriate," Bouchard said, "and that's absolutely false."

This mischaracterization of law enforcement has led to poor recruitment and retention as well as public mistreatment of law enforcement officers, he said.

"The degree of danger, the unpredictability of what you might face on any given day certainly are factors that people consider whether it's something they want to do," Bouchard said.

"They are the Vietnam veterans of today," the sheriff further said about law enforcement agents. "When the veterans came home from Vietnam, they were demonized, even though they went to do a very tough job on behalf of the American people. They didn't make the policy decisions to be there, but they stood up and did what was asked of them."

'Without prejudice': Cops doing their duty despite circumstances

Sheriff Bouchard, Officer Dave Goitia, and retired Det. Angel Maysonet all admitted that, as with all professions, there are some bad apples in law enforcement, and they all advocated for holding bad officers accountable. However, they also expressed hope that public opinion of law enforcement will improve under a second Trump administration.

Bouchard told Blaze News that once Trump resumes office, "support of law enforcement will go up dramatically."

Goitia seemed to agree. "President Trump has always been very supportive of law enforcement," he said. "Anytime he's in the public, just about, he will praise law enforcement. He will thank law enforcement. He makes it clear that law enforcement is not the problem in this country and that law enforcement need to be supported."

While Maysonet, who voted for Trump in 2024, is similarly optimistic about a second Trump term, he is concerned that the media and some lawmakers will continue to vilify law enforcement agents, especially those charged with conducting mass deportations of illegal immigrants.

"It's gonna come down to, again, people trying to portray the police as being brown coats and just doing what the government wants," he said. "The anti-police crowd are going to twist [Trump's] words and continue to place the lives of police officers in this country in danger."

'They're just going to work through it.'

Regardless of how the public perceives them or the media and politicians portray them, officers will continue to do their jobs, they said.

"When somebody calls 911 for service, the dispatcher and the police officer don't say, 'What God does this person worship? What's their skin color? Who do they sleep with? How do they identify?' We go without prejudice, and we respond, and we lay our lives on the line for everyone without prejudice," Maysonet said.

"We don't ask those questions," he continued. "It doesn't matter to us."

Goitia expressed a similar sentiment to Blaze News, claiming that, while members of law enforcement have a "foxhole mentality" and will fiercely defend their own, they often set aside personal issues and emotions to serve the public.

"[Officers] show up on Christmas, show up on New Year's Eve and still do their do their duties," he said. "They're really not going to be able to take to take time off."

"They're just going to work through it."

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'Enough is enough!': Fraternal Order of Police president calls out 'pro-criminal' prosecutors and politicians for 'one of the most dangerous years for law enforcement'



After yet another brutal year in which hundreds of police officers were shot in the line of duty, Patrick Yoes, national president of the Fraternal Order of Police, declared, "Enough is enough!"

Yoes has made clear that the criminals responsible had help from elected officials who are apparently not only anti-cop but "pro-criminal."

What are the details?

The National Fraternal Order of Police issued a report on Dec. 21, indicating that 323 law enforcement officers were shot in the line of duty so far this year.

Sixty officers were killed by gunfire overall, putting 2022 on course to match last year's count, which saw 63 law enforcement officers cut down. That death toll represents a 28% increase over the same year-to-date period in 2020.

The report also noted that 124 officers had been shot in 87 separate ambush-style attacks. Of the 124 officers so wounded, 31 were killed.

These death statistics do not include the hundreds of law enforcement officers who lost their lives in the line of duty as the result of other incidents, such as vehicular assaults.

\u201c\ud83d\udea8ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS YEARS FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT: The American Police Officer is Facing a Heightened Level of Danger\n\n\u26a0\ufe0f 323 Officers Shot This Year\n\n\u26a0\ufe0f 60 Officers Killed by Gunfire\n\n\u26a0\ufe0f 124 Officers We\u2019re Shot in 87 Ambush-Style Attacks\n\nWe still have 10 days left in 2022\u2026\u201d
— National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) (@National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP)) 1671619491

In a statement accompanying the FOP's latest report on law enforcement casualties, FOP president Patrick Yoes underscored how it is important to recognize that these numbers "represent heroes — fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters."

"As crime rates continue to rise, more citizens in this country are justifiably living in fear, constantly wondering if they too will become a victim," said Yoes.

The Major Cities Chiefs Association reported in September, on the basis of a survey of 70 major police agencies, that overall violent crime across the U.S. spiked earlier this year.

Yoes, who served as an active law enforcement officer for nearly 36 years, said this fear and bloodletting is "what happens when elected officials embrace pro-criminal, revolving-door policies and make decisions that put the interests of violent offenders ahead of public safety."

"These decisions — failures to prosecute violent offenders for their crimes or, even worse, releasing repeat offenders arrested for crimes who show a propensity for escalation of violence — make our communities less safe. These rogue prosecutors are putting innocent lives at risk. When there are no consequences for breaking the law, more people will break the law and crime will increase," he wrote.

Philadelphia's recently impeached Larry Krasner is one among many so-called progressive district attorneys accused by Republican legislators of contributing to "a catastrophic rise in violent crime at the expense of public safety."

Krasner and others have been enabled in part by leftist billionaire George Soros' Open Society Foundations network.

Fox News Digital reported that Soros' network funneled at least $35 million into anti-police groups and initiatives last year, extra to spending even more backing leftist prosecutors.

Caitlin Sutherland, executive director of Americans for Public Trust, said, "Not only has billionaire George Soros spent millions propping up pro-crime prosecutors, but now we've learned he's spent the last year bankrolling efforts to defund the police as well."

While leftist elites fill the coffers of anti-police groups, criminals having been filling coffins with police officers.

"Truthfully, the violence against those sworn to serve and protect is beyond unacceptable; it’s a stain on our society, and it must end," said Yoes. "It is incumbent upon our elected officials and community leaders to stand up, support our heroes, and speak out against the violence against law enforcement officers."

He expressed hope that the Republican-controlled Congress will pass the "Protect and Serve" Act, which would impose federal penalties on criminals who deliberately target local, state, or federal law enforcement officers with violence.

2021 saw the most police officers shot and killed in US history, according to Fraternal Order of Police



The National Fraternal Order of Police – the oldest and largest police union in the United States – said that 2021 is already the bloodiest year in history for American law enforcement officers.

As of Tuesday, the National Fraternal Order of Police reported that 314 police officers were shot in the line of duty — 58 of whom were killed. There were 42 cops shot in Texas, 25 in Illinois, 21 in California, and 17 officers shot in both Florida and Georgia.

Despite a month left to go in the year, 2021 is already the deadliest year on record for police officers, according to the FOP. There were 312 police officers shot and 47 killed in 2020. There were 293 cops shot and 50 killed in 2019.

Another disturbing trend is that there were reportedly 95 ambush-style attacks thus far in 2021 – a 126% increase compared to 2020. The ambush attacks resulted in 119 officers being shot and 28 who lost their lives.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH: More officers have been SHOT and KILLED this year than any other year\u2014and there is one month left!\n\n 314 Officers Shot\n\n 58 Officers Killed by Gunfire\n\n Ambush Attacks on Officers Up 126% from 2020 (YTD)\n\nPray for America\u2019s Law Enforcement!pic.twitter.com/Ufm87YCsd2
— National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) (@National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP)) 1638380585

"We are on pace this year to see the highest number of officers shot in the line of duty in one year ever recorded," FOP president Patrick Yoes said on Wednesday. "We've already had more officers killed in the line of duty by gunfire this year than any other — and there is still one month left."

"There is no doubt that the recent erosion of respect for law enforcement has fueled more aggression towards police officers than what has been seen in previous years," Yoes added. "As violence continues to be aimed at law enforcement, our officers continue to show up every day to keep the communities they serve safe. These men and women run toward danger to protect the public when everyone else is running away."

The National Fraternal Order of Police called on Congress to pass the "Protect and Serve Act" – legislation reintroduced by 17 Republican lawmakers in March that would "create federal penalties for individuals who deliberately target local, state, or federal law enforcement officers with violence."

The FOP demanded, "Congress must act now to address the terrible violence targeting our law enforcement officers and pass the 'Protect and Serve Act' to better protect the brave men and women who wear the badge and send a clear message to those who would seek to do them harm."

The FOP blamed "rogue prosecutors refusing to prosecute violent criminals" for the rising crime across the country. The group also called out media members for not covering increasing crime rates.

"Those saying that America's #CrimeCrisis is not out of control are either not paying attention or trying to cover for the rogue prosecutors pushing radical policies," the police organization wrote on Twitter. "To the various media folks who’ve been turning a blind eye to the killings in our streets: do your damn job!"

The FOP also blamed "activist judges" for contributing to the "historic crime wave" by "releasing violent criminals on probation with low bail or no bail."

Some say there's no #CrimeCrisis. The numbers speak for themselves.pic.twitter.com/JwApCaLT5O
— National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) (@National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP)) 1637184305

The U.S. murder rate skyrocketed 30% from 2019 to 2020 – the largest single-year increase in modern history, according to data published in October by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In September, the FBI published similar findings that homicides jumped up by 30% in 2020 compared to the previous year.

Several cities have experienced surges of violent crime in 2021.

The Council on Criminal Justice released a report in July that found the number of murders in 22 major U.S. cities increased by 16% compared to the same period in 2020 and soared by 42% compared to the first six months of 2019.

Philadelphia has reached 512 murders, surpassing the record of 500 homicides that was set in 1990.

Washington, D.C., has recorded 205 homicides in 2021, surpassing 200 for the first time since 2003.

Portland set a new record for homicides in September with 67.

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Miami police officer will be disciplined after wearing a 2020 Trump face mask at voting site while in uniform



A Miami police officer will be disciplined after he was photographed wearing a 2020 Trump face mask at a voting place while in uniform.

Steve Simeonidis, the chair of the Miami Democratic Party, tweeted the photo and demanded that the officer be suspended.

"Here is @CityofMiami Police Officer Daniel Ubeda, in full uniform with badge and gun wearing his Trump mask inside of the polling location in government center," tweeted Simeonidis, who is also an attorney.

Here is @CityofMiami Police Officer Daniel Ubeda, in full uniform with badge and gun wearing his Trump mask inside… https://t.co/LJsbo7Umlu
— Steve Simeonidis (@Steve Simeonidis)1603205294.0

"This is city funded voter intimidation," he added. "Ubeda should be suspended immediately."

Simeonidis added in a second tweet sections from the law that he said the officer was violating.

"Not only is this an egregious form of voter intimidation, but it's also a crime," he added.

The city of Miami released a statement indicating that the incident would be addressed immediately and called it "unacceptable."

We are aware of the photograph being circulated of a Miami Police officer wearing a political mask in uniform. This… https://t.co/Eoko66IMwF
— Miami PD (@Miami PD)1603208783.0

"We are aware of the photograph being circulated of a Miami Police officer wearing a political mask in uniform," read the statement. "This behavior is unacceptable, a violation of departmental policy, and is being addressed immediately."

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said that the officer would face the consequences of his actions.

"It's inappropriate. A police officer is supposed to be impartial, irrespective who the person was, whatever sign it is," Suarez said.

I have spoken to Chief Colina and we agree that the officer’s behavior is unacceptable. This was a violation of dep… https://t.co/Aomt6JXif8
— Mayor Francis Suarez (@Mayor Francis Suarez)1603212698.0

He explained that the officer had been at the polling place to vote, which will lessen his punishment.

The president of the Miami Fraternal Order of Police defended the officer in a statement that did not address the partisan face mask.

"We would like to remind everyone, Police Officers also have first amendment rights under the US Constitution as well as the right to vote in uniform pursuant to Florida State Law," Thomas Reyes said in the statement.

"We would also like to state that the National [Fraternal Order of Police] has endorsed President Donald Trump's re-election," he added.

Here's a local news report about the incident:

Chief Colina: Actions Of Uniformed Miami Officer With Trump Mask At Voting Site 'Unacceptable'www.youtube.com