Chicago Police Union Head Was Very Happy With His Meeting With Donald Trump
By Stephen Gossett in News on Mar 28, 2017 7:31PM
Dean Angelo (left) and other FOP heads meet with Donald Trump on Tuesday morning in the Roosevelt Room
It always appeared that Chicago police union head Dean Angelo and President Donald Trump were simpatico when it comes to policing policy. After Angelo visited the president at the White House on Tuesday, that appears to be even more the case, as the Fraternal Order of Police head said Trump is "on our wavelength" following their meeting, according to the Sun-Times.
When speaking with reporters following his meeting with Trump, Angelo reportedly dodged the again-hot question about Chicago's sanctuary-city status and whether police support that position. But he offered some telling light when he addressed the media. "I just mentioned that these police officers want to work. We need people to support police officers to go back to work so they can work toward stemming the violence in our city," he said.
According to Sneed, Angelo said he didn't receive any guarantees about federal funding but he offered that the President "was truly supportive of us."
Angelo has recently been critical of attempts to reform some of the more controversial aspects of the police union contract. He has also lamented low morale among officers—which Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in January was in part fueling crime in cities like Chicago. The union head has not officially commented as to whether the union supports a consent decree to enforce recommendations made by the Obama-era Department of Justice—which found a pattern of unconstitutional abuses in the Chicago police department.
Angelo, whose reelection bid heads to a runoff in April, told Sneed, "We told him it is essential to support the rank and file on the front line of this nightmare. He noted all the support he constantly receives from law enforcement and the military no matter where he goes." He also reportedly told Trump that the ACLU-backed stop reports led to the overall decrease in investigatory stops in Chicago.
Trump returned to his Chicago refrain in the meeting, which brought together a host of FOP leaders from around the country.
The president told the police leaders in the Roosevelt Room:
"Last year, in Chicago, 4,368 people were shot. Nearly 700 more have already been shot since January of this year alone. I ask, what’s going on in Chicago, right? What is going on there? There’s no excuse for it. There’s no excuse for it. I’m sure you’re asking the same question: What’s going on in Chicago?"