In response to the resignation of Ed Mullins, president of the New York Police association, amidst FBI raids on his home and association office, Black Lives Matter has released the following statement:
“The FBI investigation and subsequent resignation of the New York Police Department association president, Ed Mullins, is further proof that it is beyond time for police associations to end. Police associations are not unions. As it is chanted at our weekly #EndPoliceAssociations protest, they are ‘organized crime.’
Black Lives Matter stands in solidarity with real unions that represent the interests of working-class people. Police associations do the opposite: they oppose working class people at every turn, break strikes, and bust unions. Police associations bully and bribe public officials, pilfer the public purse by advocating for inordinate shares of public funds for police at the expense of vital public services, and they shield murderous, violent, and corrupt cops from any accountability through measures like Qualified Immunity and attempts to block meaningful police reform. Ed Mullins is not an anomaly. He is the norm. Kimberly Potter, the officer who murdered #DaunteWright in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, just outside of Minneapolis in the midst of the Derek Chauvin trial, was the president of her police association. The LAPD officer who murdered #DanielHernandez, Toni McBride, is the daughter of Los Angeles Police Protective League head, Jamie McBride. Whenever police murder and harm our folks, police associations refuse to “protect and serve” the people; instead, they close ranks and protect themselves.
The latest revelation about the New York police association and its president is one of countless examples of criminal behavior by police associations. Black Lives Matter demands that the Biden administration deploy federal investigations into all police associations nationally. We call on the AFL-CIO to expel police associations from their ranks. We implore elected officials and candidates for office to reject all contributions from police associations. We also know that power comes from the people and we invite all of those who seek justice to join the fight by showing up in the streets, advocating online, and doing the work to #EndPoliceAssociations. For more, go to endpoliceassociations.com.”
