Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is set to kick off a pro-police tour starting in New York City on Monday where he will speak with law enforcement officers who feel unsupported in democratic cities. His first stop will be a dinner in the borough of Staten Island and from there he will head to Fort Washington, a Philadelphia suburb, and Elmhurst, Illinois, near Chicago, where he will “meet with sheriffs, chiefs of police and other local law enforcement officials,” according to his political team.
Paul DiGiacomo, president of New York City’s Detectives’ Endowment Association, will be in attendance at Monday’s event and told reporters, “It’s a law enforcement rally to send a message back to some of our elected officials that the laws that they have enacted in the state of New York are not working – specifically the bail reform laws – and it’s putting my members, detectives and cops in danger, as well as the public,” he said. “It’s gone too far to the left over the last couple of years.”
According to Fox:
DeSantis is expected to tout his efforts to support law enforcement and reduce crime in Florida, where he recently proposed legislation to strengthen bail laws, toughen penalties for sex criminals and other anti-crime measures.
According to the governor’s office, DeSantis implemented the largest recruitment package for law enforcement officers in state history last year, awarding $5,000 signing bonuses to officers willing to relocate to Florida from blue states.
News of DeSantis’ trip to Chicago caused backlash from Democratic Illinois Governor JB Pritzker who labelled DeSantis as “homophobic.”
“Well he doesn’t represent the values of the people in Illinois,” Pritzker told WGN 9. “In fact, he is the antithesis of that. He’s demonstrated that he’s homophobic, that he has tendencies to promote racism.”
DeSantis has been discussed as a potential GOP nominee to run for the presidency in 2024 although he’s made no official announcement.
