Philadelphia police union endorses Jeff Brown for mayor

Philadelphia’s police union on Thursday endorsed mayoral candidate Jeff Brown, who is running on a pledge to defeat the city’s political establishment that union leaders believe has failed to adequately support and protect officers.

The Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 5 is the second municipal union to back Brown, a first-time candidate and the only major contender in the race who has never held political office before.

“Our brave men and women who risk their lives each and every day to protect our city deserve a mayor that has their backs and support,” union president John McNesby said in a statement.

Hours after the union’s announcement, the Guardian Civic League, the local chapter of the National Association of Black Law Enforcement Officers, announced it is also backing Brown, saying that he is “the only real choice.”

The group has split before with the FOP, so its endorsement is notable. Bill Blackmon, chairman of the group’s election committee, said Brown “will fight against the unfair treatment of Black and brown Philadelphia by law enforcement.”

Still, the FOP’s endorsement — in a city that’s deeply divided on issues of policing — may shift some voters’ perception of Brown, whose early campaign messaging courted Black voters and touted his background supporting criminal-justice reform efforts.

In 2017, Brown served on the transition team of progressive District Attorney Larry Krasner, the FOP’s chief political foe. He built his image in part on hiring thousands of ex-offenders to work in his stores, and he has said that he does not think the police department’s nearly $800 million budget should grow.

But Brown has also said police in the city do not feel supported by political leaders. He has been critical of Krasner’s office’s prosecution record, and he has questioned elements of the city’s so-called driving-equality legislation, a law aimed at curbing racial bias in police stops that the FOP sued to try to block.

The FOP’s announcement comes after several days of negative headlines surrounding Brown, who on Monday was accused by the city’s board of ethics of illegally coordinating with an outside group supporting his campaign. Then, on Tuesday, a comment he made about trash incineration went viral when he appeared dismissive of concerns voiced by residents of Chester about environmental racism.

Brown had earlier won the backing of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees’ District Council 33, which represents thousands of workers in the city’s prisons, recreation, and streets departments.

» READ MORE: Philly mayoral candidate Jeff Brown calls ethics allegations a ‘political hit job’

Several of Brown’s rivals did not seek an endorsement from the FOP, which represents about 6,000 active-duty officers. Brown said in an interview with The Inquirer’s editorial board last month that he sought the FOP’s backing, saying any union that supports him is “signing up for change.”

“And we know we need them to make a change,” he said. “So I want them to sign up in advance that, ‘This is the manager we want, and these are the changes we are willing to agree to.’”

It’s unclear at this point what those changes are. McNesby has said he is open to some criminal-justice reform measures — including body-worn cameras for officers and behavioral health providers responding with officers to some crime scenes — but the FOP has in general worked to maintain law enforcement’s status quo.

The union’s strength and the city’s police arbitration system makes it challenging for the city to get rid of cops accused of misconduct. The FOP has successfully had police discipline or firings overturned dozens of times over the last decade.

It has also defended a disability program that has been abused for years by officers who made questionable injury claims yet continued to make a city salary, tax-free.

Brown was asked about the arbitration system during a mayoral forum Wednesday and defended the FOP, saying “a lot of these problems I see as a failure of leadership and management and not of the union.”

He said the city should adjust its disciplinary procedures, and said if an officer is out-of-duty and shouldn’t be, “it’s management’s job to address it.”

“We have very poor personnel management in this city,” he said. “And it’s easy to blame the union, but you have to remember, they’re there for a purpose, bargaining for the employees for pay and protecting them if they get discharged.”

Over the last several years, the FOP has endorsed a mix of Democrats and Republicans for political office. Last year, the union backed Josh Shapiro for governor, the Democratic nominee and former attorney general, as well as Mehmet Oz, the GOP U.S. Senate nominee. Shapiro won; Oz lost to Democrat John Fetterman.

In 2016 and 2020, the local union followed the national FOP and backed Donald Trump for president.

The FOP has been consistent in rejecting progressive politicians, especially those it sees as sympathetic to the “defund the police” movement. No mayoral candidate has indicated being in favor of reducing funding to the police department.

Three candidates — Allan Domb, Helen Gym, and Cherelle Parker — were City Council members in 2020 when they voted to cancel a proposed $19 million increase to the police budget. Since then, the annual police budget has increased by more than $50 million.