Ed’s prepared remarks from Thursday’s Press Conference
Thank you everyone for coming. A special thanks to the active-duty and retired members of the law enforcement community here today. My message to you today is this: We are here to support you.
We want to continue to live in America’s safest state. Violent crime is rising in Maine, and I believe it will get worse as people become desperate this winter. Much of the blame for this rise in crime are the results of the policies pushed by Representative Pingree and her progressive colleagues in Washington.
For those of you that have never served in law enforcement, I ask you to at least take a few ride-alongs with those who protect you. You will see a variety of situations – any of them could change in an instant – and could change or even end someone’s life.
Add to those few hours that you spend next to their shoes, not in them, that they are human. They are wives and husbands and parents, and also someone’s children.
Serving in law enforcement requires a willingness to walk into any situation to help people anytime. I know how hard it is. I work with and train law enforcement here in Maine. We ask a lot of these men and women. They serve us bravely and selflessly.
The few that do step forward to serve and protect deserve great respect. They are kind and caring, and switch to fearless and brave in an instant. The individuals who serve in law enforcement do not ask for help easily. When they do, we must respond with a caring and supportive hand.
Retired FBI Agent and Reserve Police Officer Todd DiFede in May wrote a very well-thought out letter to Congresswoman Pingree asking for just that, help. Not for himself, but for help with the mental health and wellness of the law enforcement community.
Her response, which is available here today, along with Mr. DiFede’s letter, doesn’t address the issue of Officer Wellness at all. Instead, in paragraph two, Pingree lays out what she perceives as the sins of law enforcement, alleging that police officers kill nearly 1,000 people each year, and disproportionately kill people of color.
In her response to Mr. DiFede, Pingree continues, “we must address the scope and magnitude of the harms caused by police brutality.” She then proceeds to boast about the laws she has supported cutting resources to law enforcement.
Before pivoting to issues unrelated to her constituent’s request for help, Pingree wrote, “I recommend that you reach out to your local representatives to share your thoughts on this issue.”
She has no idea what is needed to support the folks that take care of us while we sleep. It doesn’t seem to occur to her to take care of those that take care of us. Her response was clear: “I do not support you; go ask someone else.”
Those who serve in law enforcement work hard. They are under equipped, under paid, understaffed, and as is apparent with Pingree’s words, under appreciated.
This disregard for our Police is contagious. It has affected recruiting. It is causing hate and disrespect from the very people they took an oath to protect.
We are here today to tell the men and women in law enforcement that we support you. We will get you the help, training, and the resources you need to take care of us.
At a time when our law enforcement professionals need our support more than ever, the record is painfully clear: Chellie Pingree is bad for law enforcement.
I call on my opponent to take a stand in support of the men and women in blue and support HR 3080, Congressman Don Bacon’s “Back the Blue Act”.
I also call on Representative Pingree to join me in a debate on public safety issues to showcase for voters the wide gap between our two approaches to the critical issues facing the dedicated members of our law enforcement community.
Thank you.
