Fact Check

Police Union Cancels Trump Endorsement

Although the Fraternal Order of Police's executive director did chide Donald Trump, the union did not retract their endorsement of the GOP candidate.

Published Sept. 22, 2016

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Claim:
The Fraternal Order of Police have retracted their endorsement of Donald Trump.

On 16 September 2016 the largest police union in the United States, the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), announced their endorsement of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

Four days later Trump disgruntled a good many police when, during a campaign event at the New Spirit Revival Center in Ohio, he suggested that Tulsa police officer Betty Shelby — who had just been involved in the controversial fatal shooting of Terence Crutcher — had erred because she was "scared" or "choking":

"I watched the shooting, in part, in Tulsa, and that man was hands up," Trump said. "That man went to the car, hands up, put his hands on the car.

"To me, it looked like he did everything you're supposed to do. The young officer — I don't know what she was thinking. But I'm very, very troubled by that."

"These things are terrible. That was, in my opinion, a terrible, terrible situation," Trump said.

"Did she get scared? Was she choking? What happened? People that do that — maybe they can't be doing what they're doing," Trump said.

This turn of events led to claims circulated via social media that the FOP had retracted their endorsement of Trump:

fraternal order of police

Although the FOP's executive director chided Trump over his remarks, the police union did not actually withdraw its endorsement of the GOP candidate:

The Fraternal Order of Police endorsed Trump, and that endorsement still stands, said Jim Pasco, the group’s executive director. But of Trump, said Pasco, "he must be mindful of the due process rights and presumption of innocence accorded to all, including police officers.”

Sources

Wheaton, Sarah.   "Police Union Knocks Trump for Suggesting Tulsa Officer Choked."     Politico.   21 September 2016.

Dan Evon is a former writer for Snopes.