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Multiple police union leaders have requested or supported federal law enforcement assistance to counter rising rates of violent crime in their cities, including in Charlotte, where the fatal stabbing of Iryna Zarutska drew national attention. But, at least one union leader reversed course after city officials rejected the idea as illegal and unnecessary.
On Thursday, the Fraternal Order of Police in Charlotte’s Mecklenburg County became the latest police union to invite the National Guard, having sent a letter to city leaders requesting federal law enforcement assistance after the city faced 15 murders in roughly a month. Prior to Charlotte, police unions from Milwaukee and Washington, D.C., also signaled support for the deployment of federal law enforcement by the Trump administration.
The leader of Milwaukee’s Police Association, Alex Ayala, indicated last month he planned to request that the Trump administration bring federal troops and law enforcement officials to his city. However, he later walked the claim back following pushback from city leaders, calling the request a violation of federal law and unnecessary.
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A patrol vehicle belonging to the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD). (Charlotte Police)
“We will not need the guard to come to Charlotte,” the city’s mayor, Vi Lyles, said in response to the city’s police union request for federal help. Her comments were echoed by numerous Democratic leaders in the region, from the city’s congressional representative to local city council officials.
“These measures do not address the root causes of violence,” JD Mazuera Arias, a Charlotte City Council member, said in a statement after the request was made public.
In addition to Charlotte, Ayala said last month he intended to make a similar request for federal assistance in Milwaukee. However, following…
