Stamford Police Publicly Endorse Glenn Beck: I Wish I Were Joking

I read on the Advocate's 411 blog that SPD chose Glenn Beck to speak at their Officer of the Year ceremony. What's even more absurd is their stated reason why. Keep reading.

I don't know much about Glenn Beck, but here's what Wikipedia says:

In response to the president's remarks on the Henry Louis Gates controversy, Beck argued that President Barack Obama has repeatedly shown "a deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture," saying "I'm not saying he doesn't like white people. I'm saying he has a problem. This guy is, I believe, a racist."

Here's what the SPD has to say about why they chose him as a speaker:

Sgt. Joseph Kennedy, president of the Stamford Police Association, said the choice of Beck as a keynote speaker makes the awards ceremony appeal to a broader base of people, and also his membership.

“Most police officers are conservative by nature,” Kennedy said. “I can’t say everyone is a Republican but we seem to have more conservative views when it comes to global issues.”

“We know from people we’ve spoken to and from hearing Beck in the past, he has a good appreciation for law enforcement,” Kennedy said.

THAT MAKES NO SENSE. Police are civil servants, just like teachers. I keep my political views out of the classroom (my students don't have the choice to avoid me), and my police should keep their political views out of my face (I don't have the choice to pick and choose who protects me and my fellow Stamfordites). When you have chosen, like teachers and police officers have, to serve a community, you also give up a little bit of how much of your politics you can express. That's because to do your job well, you have to have the full respect of the community, and to do that, you need to not publicly endorse people who many people find terribly offensive.

I believe the police have a responsibility to portray themselves as fair-minded, caring people. Having Beck as a speaker suggests that he's their role model, and I prefer to think my police aspire to a higher model of balanced thinking- don't they need that to make good decisions in their daily task of protecting us? I hope the SPD cares enough about its reputation enough to cancel this guy's speaking engagement.

I'm gonna have to give this whole situation a big Stamford Talk "DUH."

Click read more to see excerpts of Advocate readers’ comments that prove that the SPD’s choice of speaker offends the community:

geez with all the problems in the Stamford Police Department–A cop slugging a woman in the face, another showing photos of his genitals and not too long ago another buying fenced goods perhaps the SPA would find someone less controversial and dare i say progressive. The recent problems are a sign of arrogance

I served the City of Stamford for 32 years as a police officer and lived and raised my family in this beautiful City my children attended and graduated from Stamford Public Schools and very proud of it….not in my wildest dreams would I be a part to honoring the officer of the year by bringing a racist, anti-social bigot individual as guest speaker. The Stamford Police Association is sending the multicultural community of Stamford the WRONG message….but, then again what else is new. Shame on you SPA.

No matter how you slice it, this does not make the STP look good. They are a professional organization. They should not be promoting a speaker who is perceived as a divisive political demagogue by a significant percent of the population that they serve. It is bad community relations, and makes them look very unprofessional. It is an uneeded public distraction to any good work they do.