From January 2020 to the present more than 65 brave law enforcement officers have made the ultimate sacrifice while serving and protecting their communities and their citizens. In America there are approximately 750,000 law enforcement officers, nearly 3,028 Sheriffs. Each day they go out into the neighborhoods to protect and serve.
In February of 2017 President Donald Trump notified The National Sheriff’s Association and invited a handful of Sheriffs to come to the White House to have a roundtable meeting with the new Commander-in-Chief. The President that day also had Vice President Mike Pence and the Assistant Attorney General present for the meeting.
Each Sheriff was allowed to make a few comments as we sat and listened to the President’s responses, and I looked over and noted that Vice President Pence was writing in his notebook, that impressed me.
You can imagine how overwhelming that experience was and when my turn came to speak. I told President Trump that I am seeing something now that I had not seen in many years in law enforcement, “The President’s support for us.” I told him that I appreciated him. I also let him know that we needed that support. President Trump and his staff from the Department of Homeland Security continue to invite law enforcement to the White House to engage in professional discussion about improving the ways that we serve our communities and to make them safer.
You see in 37 years of law enforcement service I never seen a sitting president take the time to ask the Sheriff’s what were our concerns and problems that we face. Consistently from the time the president has been in office to the present he has shown the support that we need to carry out our missions in protecting and serving our citizens. President Trump knows that the first responsibility of government is public safety.
President Trump promised to build a border wall to help slow the drug, and human trafficking and criminal activity along our Southern border with Mexico. He also fought for funding for our Border Patrol and Immigration and Custom Enforcement officers as they continue to secure the border and interior enforcement and protect America and our citizens. As of today, I believe that there are nearly 300 miles of border barriers along our Southern Border at this time. Promises kept.
President Trump from day one has put America and the American People first. When we all started seeing the civil unrest and rioting popping up across the country our President took note, he offered assistance to the leaders in those major cities that had ignored the danger signs of pending violence, death, and destruction. As usual the President only received criticism from the out of touch Mayors and now many days later, we see the loss of lives of Police Officers, law abiding citizens, serious personal injuries, and tremendous property damage. This is what can happen when leadership fails to lead in a community!
I have seen in the media where national law enforcement unions representing several thousand officers are supporting President Trump. Recently in North Carolina Vice-President Pence was present when our State’s Police Benevolent Association endorsed the president. It is very easy to understand why law enforcement officers can get behind President Trump. Because he cares about us and supports public safety. “He has our back and we have his.”
President Trump understands the importance of working with all of our communities and our efforts of building trust and support by law enforcement. He also understands “The Rule of Law,” and holding law breakers, and persons that violate our immigration laws accountable. He supports our local, state, and federal officers.
As a Sheriff, I observed the last presidential administration and it’s lack of support for law enforcement in America, and my biggest concern is that Joe Biden would take us in law enforcement back in time, and I fear that the same villainization of our officers that we saw then, would reappear and the dialog with the White House would be no more.
I watched President Trump’s response to the riots and out of control cities across the country over the past few months. I feel that my President tried to do all he could with his authority, but the mayors of these cities at the end of the day refused his assistance and could only talk about “defunding the police.”
I noticed that there weren’t many in the Democratic leadership in this country denouncing the violence and property damage. No solutions, “just crickets.”
Defunding the police in my opinion will not make our communities safer. What will help is support that President Trump provides through the Department of Justice funding programs that invest in law enforcement agencies across the U.S., and a strong Attorney General that we have that is interested in going after violent offenders that plague our communities, and innovative programs such as “Project Legend, and Project Safe Streets.”
Law enforcement officers across this great nation know that on Nov. 3rd that there is a lot at stake. Our citizens have a simple choice during the election to make: Either they are for law and order or lawlessness. I’ll choose law and order and stand by Donald J. Trump for President of the United States.
Sam Page is the elected sheriff of Rockingham County, N.C.
