Harris-Trump showdown: Group of former law enforcement leaders takes sides in presidential election

FIRST ON FOX – A nonpartisan police leadership organization that notes that it is the only national law enforcement advocacy group to endorse political candidates is weighing in on the 2024 White House race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.

The Police Leaders for Community Safety said Monday that it is endorsing Harris, in an announcement shared first with Fox News.

The organization – which says it is led by a diverse group of prominent police professionals who have been at the helm of numerous major national law enforcement leadership groups – highlights that its mission is to champion “policies to make communities and the people in them safer, improve and evolve policing, and safeguard the rule of law.”

The backing by the group, which was formed in June, gives Harris support from a major law enforcement group following the endorsement earlier this month of Trump by the National Fraternal Order of Police, the country’s largest police union.

And earlier this year, Trump also landed the endorsement of another major law enforcement union – the International Union of Police Associations – as well as the National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO).

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Former President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris (Fox News )

“This endorsement reflects Vice President Harris’ track record and unwavering commitment to public safety and the rule of law,” Sue Riseling, chair of Police Leaders for Community Safety, said.

Police Leaders for Community Safety board member David Mahoney, a former Dane County, Wisconsin, sheriff and past president of the National Sheriffs’ Association, said that Harris “spent her prosecutorial career protecting people, supporting victims and holding accountable those who have harmed others and betrayed the public trust. As a lawmaker, she has fought hard for the critical law enforcement-backed policies needed to fight crime and protect the public.”

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Additionally, Board Vice Chair Rick Myers, a former police chief in eight communities in multiple states, said that “too many politicians call themselves tough on crime and say they support law enforcement but then don’t have the courage to do what is right to keep us safe…We need a leader who will protect both the 2nd Amendment and our nation from the scourge of gun violence, and that leader is Kamala Harris.” 

Vice President Kamala Harris arrives to speak during a campaign stop at the Throwback Brewery, in North Hampton, New Hampshire, on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Regardless of downward trends in many crime categories nationally, crime remains a leading issue on the minds of American voters. 

Trump has argued that Harris, a former prosecutor, San Francisco district attorney and California attorney general, is soft on crime and anti-police and has blamed her for persistent crime issues in San Francisco.  

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The former president and GOP nominee has called for more aggressive policing, less oversight by the federal government, and more military equipment for local police departments.

Former President Trump arrives for a campaign rally at Wilmington International Airport on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024 in North Carolina. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Harris has spotlighted Trump’s legal controversies – he made history earlier this year as the first former or current president convicted of a felony – and argues he has been hostile to law enforcement that has investigated him.

The vice president and Democratic Party nominee spotlights the Biden-Harris administration’s record on law enforcement funding through pandemic relief funds. She advocates for stronger federal oversight and less military equipment for local police departments.

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Harris campaign manager, Julie Chavez Rodriguez, in a statement following the endorsement, noted that “as a prosecutor who has stood with law enforcement throughout her entire career, Vice President Harris took a tough and smart approach on crime: increasing conviction rates, holding violent criminals accountable, and keeping communities safe. She also worked tirelessly to make the criminal justice system more fair – especially for communities of color.”

She argued that “this November, Americans will choose between someone who spent her career enforcing the rule of law and someone who has been convicted of breaking them.”

The Harris campaign notes that the latest endorsement follows the backing of the vice president by 100 law enforcement officials, including officers who protected the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack by Trump supporters, and over 700 national security officials.

Editor’s note: This story’s headline has been updated to reflect that Police Leaders for Community Safety is comprised of former law enforcement leaders and not a leading group.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.