Sen. Elizabeth Warren is facing a barrage of criticism from law enforcement across Massachusetts and the nation for calling the criminal justice system “racist… front to back.” (WCVB)
Warren made the comment last week while speaking at Dillard University in New Orleans, a historically black college, as part of a Q&A session hosted by Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Cedric Richmond.
The Democratic senator from Massachusetts said the disproportionate arrests of African-Americans for petty drug possession, an overloaded public defender system and state laws that keep convicted felons from voting as some instances of institutional racism in the criminal justice system.
Dudley Police Chief Steven Wojnar, head of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, sent a letter Tuesday to Warren’s office asking for clarification, saying her comment “spreads false and damaging information about our members.”
“We feel we do a very good job in Massachusetts of producing professional and community oriented police officers,” Wojnar stated. “These men and women, from a variety of backgrounds, provide dedicated service to their respective communities under difficult and highly scrutinized circumstances each day. As leaders, we are always concerned about having our officers conduct themselves professionally and fairly when dealing with the public.”
In recent years, anti-police sentiment has resulted in cops increasingly becoming victims simply because of what they represent.
In the deadliest ambush to date, five officers were killed in Dallas during a Black Lives Matter protest on July 7, 2016.