June 8, 2020

A Local Police Organization Offers to Hire Cops Called Out for Abuse

Cops banded together last week to stand up for their right to use force whenever they deem necessary. After the suspension of two Buffalo police officers who pushed an unarmed senior citizen last week, 57 fellow officers resigned from the riot squad in protest. Could it be more obvious that some cops are more dedicated to each other than they are the communities they’re sworn to protect? Turns out, yes.

In a now-deleted Facebook post, the Brevard County Fraternal Order of Police offered jobs to those who resigned from the Buffalo PD’s Emergency Response Team, touting lower taxes in Florida and “no spineless leadership, or dumb mayors rambling on at press conferences.” (The offer was also extended to the Atlanta officers who were caught on tape brutalizing two Black college students as they left a protest in late May.)

The Fraternal Order of Police, a national law enforcement organization with 2,000-plus local chapters representing more than 300,000 officers, has long been criticized for thwarting police reform efforts.

But apparently recruiting officers defending abuse was a step too far. On Monday, Bert Gamin, the Brevard County FOP’s president, issued an apology, explaining “that my post was insensitive and wrong and that it did not convey the actual thought that I was trying to communicate.”

“I let my emotions and frustration get the better of me as a result of all the continually negative media portrayals of law enforcement,” he wrote. “My intent was to respond to some of the negative messaging and offer a supportive message to all the men and women in law enforcement. Clearly, I failed doing so.”

Clearly.

But as a representative of the media, I feel it’s only fair to address Gamin’s concerns. I am sorry that our coverage of law enforcement brutally attacking civilians has upset him. Our intent was to hold public servants accountable for doing things like slashing tires at protests and gassing protestors. If it helps, the night before the Buffalo PD knocked down a 75-year-old man at the same spot near City Hall, press posted a photo of officers kneeling.

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THE FACTS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES.

At least we hope they will, because that’s our approach to raising the $350,000 in online donations we need right now—during our high-stakes December fundraising push.

It’s the most important month of the year for our fundraising, with upward of 15 percent of our annual online total coming in during the final week—and there’s a lot to say about why Mother Jones’ journalism, and thus hitting that big number, matters tremendously right now.

But you told us fundraising is annoying—with the gimmicks, overwrought tone, manipulative language, and sheer volume of urgent URGENT URGENT!!! content we’re all bombarded with. It sure can be.

So we’re going to try making this as un-annoying as possible. In “Let the Facts Speak for Themselves” we give it our best shot, answering three questions that most any fundraising should try to speak to: Why us, why now, why does it matter?

The upshot? Mother Jones does journalism you don’t find elsewhere: in-depth, time-intensive, ahead-of-the-curve reporting on underreported beats. We operate on razor-thin margins in an unfathomably hard news business, and can’t afford to come up short on these online goals. And given everything, reporting like ours is vital right now.

If you can afford to part with a few bucks, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones with a much-needed year-end donation. And please do it now, while you’re thinking about it—with fewer people paying attention to the news like you are, we need everyone with us to get there.

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