Two days after Donald Trump accused her of being “against the police,” Hillary Clinton met with leading police chiefs from across the country Thursday, vowing to provide needed money and resources while tackling the deep distrust some communities feel toward police.
The New York City meeting was closed to the press, though the former first lady and Democratic presidential candidate delivered brief remarks before reporters were ushered out of the room at John Jay College.
“We have to be clear-eyed about the challenges we face. We can’t ignore them, and certainly we must not inflame them. We need to work together to bridge our divides, not stoke even more divisiveness,” she said. “And I want to support them, our police officers, with the [resources] they need to do their jobs, to do them effectively, to learn from their efforts and to apply those lessons across the nation.”
The meeting was held at a time of tension between law enforcement and minority communities around the country, and on the heels of the deaths of black men at the hands of police in Louisiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin and elsewhere.
It also comes just over a month after five Dallas police officers were killed by a gunman who said he was specifically targeting white officers and sought revenge for the deaths of black men.
Respecting and supporting law enforcement while pushing reforms surely will be one of the toughest challenges for the next president, though Mrs. Clinton said real progress is possible.
“I think we can come together with a sense of shared purpose, and a belief in our common destiny to have a purpose where we go forth united and do everything possible to respond to any legitimate questions, to find answers together and to keep our communities safe, to protect lives and property, while also respecting every single American,” she said.
On Tuesday, Mrs. Clinton’s Republican opponent outlined his own law-and-order agenda in a speech not far from Milwaukee neighborhoods rocked by anti-police riots. Mr. Trump laid the blame for urban despair and conflict between police and minorities at the feet of Mrs. Clinton.
“I am running to offer you a much better future,” Mr. Trump said in West Bend, Wisconsin. “Crime and violence is an attack on the poor and it will never be accepted in a Trump administration.”
“The problem in our minority communities is not that there is too much police but that there is not enough police,” he said. “She is against the police, believe me. You know it and I know it and guess what, she knows it.”
According to a list released by the Clinton campaign, the meeting included outgoing New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck, Tucson Police Chief Chris Magnus, New York City Chief of Department James O’Neil, Seattle Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole, former Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey, Camden Police Chief Scott Thomson and Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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