Police unions overwhelmingly back the GOP
From Greenwich, Stamford and Norwalk to Trumbull, West Haven and Madison, local police unions across the state in recent weeks have endorsed candidates for the state legislature, overwhelmingly favoring Republicans. Experts’ reactions to the trend have varied: one has said it’s only natural for police unions to endorse candidates and protect their members’ interests, another has speculated that it might not be a savvy political strategy, and yet another contends that endorsements themselves are harmful to democracy.
Endorsements from police associations are nothing new, experts point out. But notable this election season are the language used in some endorsements – which often cite Connecticut’s police accountability bill as the primary factor in the decision — and the stark split along party lines.
And more and more local police unions are opting to endorse.
Because of the police accountability bill, officers “feel the need to step in and let their voices be
heard on the issue,” said state Rep. Vincent Candelora, R-North Branford, an opponent of the bill.
Though state police unions often endorse political candidates, Candelora said, local endorsements are a bit more atypical, and “what is unusual is that you’re seeing local law enforcement across the state wholesale endorse a particular party over another.”
The bill
Connecticut’s police accountability bill passed in July amid widespread public demand for police reform – and after the high- profile death of George Floyd while being restrained by police in Minneapolis, which sparked protests nationwide.
The legislation creates a new inspector general’s office to investigate deadly police shootings, allows municipalities to form civilian review boards with subpoena power and requires officers to step in when they witness a coworker using excessive force, among numerous other measures.
One particularly controversial part of the bill, slated to take effect in July 2021, is a provision that will limit when officers can invoke governmental immunity, making it easier for citizens to pursue civil lawsuits against police officers in state court.
Advocates have said lawsuits will only be able to go forward if officers violated someone’s constitutional rights without a good-faith belief they were following the law, and that municipalities still will be required to indemnify officers unless an officer’s action is found to be intentional and malicious.
But critics of the bill have said the provision could have unintended consequences, discouraging police from doing their jobs out of fear of frivolous lawsuits, according to a report from the New Haven Independent.
Unions react
Some police unions have alleged officers could lose their houses due to litigation.
The bill “is perceived to be devastating to [ police officers’] jobs,” Candelora said.
Some resulting political endorsements have used what Michael Lawlor, a criminal justice professor at the University of New Haven and former state legislator, described as “strident” language that vilifies supporters of the bill.
Take a letter from the North Branford police union that endorses Republican Joe LaPorta over incumbent Sen. Christine Cohen, D-Guilford. It says Cohen “chose to ignore the concerns of a community she swore to represent” and “has lost touch with representing everyone in the 12th district.”
Norwalk police Lt. David O’Connor, president of that city’s police union, also issued a strong statement on why the organization decided to endorse Republican candidates.
“Our Union feels the Democratic party used us for photo ops and has taken advantage of our friendships,” he said. “They wrote and passed a bill that damages our ability to do policing in the most basic sense and threatens our job security. The bill was rushed through with zero input from the stakeholders in policing with no evidence to show the need for such drastic changes. We feel betrayed and deceived.”
Lawlor, who disclosed that he is a Democrat, wasn’t sure whether the endorsements were a good political strategy in a predominantly blue state.
He predicted that more ambitious efforts around police reform will take place next year.
“I think you’d want to be at the table for those discussions,” Lawlor said, adding that in government, it’s important to listen to critics.
“Vilifying people who are criticizing you is not helpful in terms of resolving the problem, because the problem’s not going to go away no matter who wins this election,” he said.
In Stamford, where the police union endorsed three Republicans challengers for state office who have criticized the bill, union President Kris Engstrand said it is somewhat unusual for the union to endorse candidates, but “we felt the politicians currently in office did not hear the voices and concerns of police officers and pushed the legislation through so fast without examining all the angles.”
The case against endorsements
Given the close ties between police and government, Kalfani Turè, an assistant professor of criminal justice at Quinnipiac University and a former Georgia police officer, said he does not think the endorsements will keep unions out of discussions around police reform if the endorsed candidates lose.
But he argued strongly against any police union endorsements, likening them to political capital that can stand in the way of reform efforts by creating a “quid pro quo” relationship between police and lawmakers.
Endorsements from law enforcement organizations are valuable to politicians of any party, according to Turè, who said they mark individuals as “law and order” candidates.
For Republicans and Democrats, and especially for suburban voters, Turè said, public safety is a major concern.
Due to the value of an endorsement, the fear of losing one might discourage lawmakers from enacting meaningful police reform, Turè said.
“I would argue that public officials are reluctant to hold police ... accountable when there is a need to do so, because who wants to squander that capital?” he said. “Why do I want to squander this sort of law and order aspect of my profile, particularly when the law and order aspect means so much?”
That’s why Turè contends unions should remain nonpartisan.
“Police officers should be neutral, because they are expected to protect and enforce the law, and serve as public safety resources for all of us,” he said. “Police unions are not representing private citizens, they’re representing a public institution.”
Police & politics
But former Branford police Chief John DeCarlo, an associate professor of criminal justice at the University of New Haven, said unions themselves are private entities free to make endorsements.
“I think that police departments themselves should not take a political stance ... but police unions are not those police departments ... and there’s no way that we can stop them from having an opinion,” he said. “It would be silly for any company, which a police union is, not to endorse a party that would further their interests.”
And more endorsements appear to be on theway.
As of Tuesday, the Danbury Police Union was in the process of determining which candidates to support.
“Generally, we try to stay out of politics but there has been a lot of controversy this year,” said Danbury police Officer David Antedomenico, president of the union. “So we put out a poll to our membership.”
Results of the poll will be used to endorse candidates in races ranging from president and Connecticut’s congressional 5th District to candidates in state House and Senate races that represent Danbury.
Antedomenico said the endorsements this year were in response to police reform legislation in Hartford that was not “vetted.”
As DeCarlo sees it, the endorsements are only natural: good or bad, policing has always been entangled with politics, with law enforcement drawing power from local government, he said.
“Politicians make every one of the decisions police live with,” DeCarlo said.
Not only do police unions have a vested interest in politics, he said, but police officers also represent thousands of votes.
Still, DeCarlo said, he’s skeptical as to whether Connecticut will see a conservative shift in the legislature, given the state is a Democratic stronghold graced by a low crime rate, he said.