St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and mayoral candidate Pat Harris called on the leadership of the city’s police union to resign Thursday evening, decrying as racist the group’s recent criticism of Harris’ opponent Melvin Carter III.

The St. Paul Police Federation accused Carter, who is black, of doing too little to secure two handguns that were stolen from his home in an August burglary. The Police Federation has endorsed Harris in the race for mayor.

The criticism was first aired Tuesday in a statement from the union and reiterated Thursday in a campaign mailer that suggested a link between the stolen guns and recent gun violence in St. Paul.

Echoing earlier statements from Carter’s campaign, Coleman and Harris separately criticized the “attacks” as racially motivated — a charge rejected by Police Federation President Dave Titus.

“David Titus and the board of the Saint Paul Police Federation have embarrassed the good men and women of the Saint Paul Police Department for too long,” Coleman wrote in a Facebook post. “The racist attacks and hollow apologies of the last two days may have been aimed at one candidate, but they affect all people of color, and all people of character. They are not worthy of Saint Paul.”

Less than two hours later, Harris said in an emailed statement that “there is absolutely no place in Saint Paul for the type of dirty, political tactics and dog whistle racism that have come from the Saint Paul Police Federation’s leadership over the past few days.”

“It is time for a new direction to truly move all of Saint Paul forward together,” Harris continued. “I will not stand with the current leadership and call upon the board of the Saint Paul Police Federation to resign.”

Asked whether Harris would reject the Police Federation’s endorsement, a spokeswoman repeated the last sentence of his statement.

Coleman, who is not seeking reelection, is running for governor in 2018. He has had a rocky relationship with the Police Federation in recent years.

Titus responded to Coleman’s call for his resignation through a spokesman: “We appreciate Mayor Coleman’s new found interest in St. Paul after spending so much on his gubernatorial campaign. I only wish he focused that concern on the tragic levels of crime the people he is supposed to represent are dealing with.”

The calls for resignations came on the same day as the new campaign flier landed in St. Paul mailboxes, calling attention to rising gun violence in the city and attempting to link the trend to the guns stolen from Carter’s home.

“Over 100 shots have been fired since August 15 when Melvin Carter’s guns went missing,” the mailer reads.

The flier, from the political action committee Building a Better St. Paul, is marked as “an independent expenditure in support of Pat Harris” and quotes Titus saying, “We need a mayor that will make public safety a priority.”

Building a Better St. Paul is primarily funded by the St. Paul Police Federation, the St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce Political Action Committee, Teamsters Local 120, St. Paul Fire Fighters Local 21 — all groups that have endorsed Harris — and other business interests.

It is chaired by former state lawmaker and business consultant Brian Bergson.

In response to the flier Thursday afternoon, the Carter campaign called on Harris to reject the federation’s endorsement of his candidacy.

“These repeated attacks show clearly that our police union has determined that preserving ‘business as usual’ isn’t possible with Melvin in City Hall — and they’re right,” said campaign spokeswoman Emily Weber, in a written statement. “The repeated attacks on a family that has been victim to a crime demonstrate again the systemic racism built into police culture across America.”

U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, who represents southern Minnesota, is running against Coleman for the Democratic-Farmer-Labor nomination in a crowded field. He released a joint statement with U.S. Rep. Peggy Flanagan, decrying the union’s criticism of Carter.

“A family’s home was burglarized, and now that’s being used as a political attack,” they wrote. “Leaders of conscience from all sides need to call this mailer out for what it is — thinly-veiled prejudice masquerading as political discourse.”

U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison and former St. Paul NAACP president Nick Khaliq have condemned the federation’s letter.

“Melvin was the victim of a crime, yet the federation is publicly questioning him as though he’s a criminal,” said Ellison, in a statement Thursday. “The federation’s letter questioning Carter strays from the regular procedures of crime solving. … It’s simply politics and is disturbing. Police are sworn to protect and serve, not to push a political agenda.”

The two stolen handguns have not been recovered, but a 24-year-old suspect was charged last week with the burglaries at Carter’s home and another residence.

“There’s nothing to indicate that any of the guns stolen from Mr. Carter’s home have been used in a crime,” said Steve Linders, a St. Paul police spokesman, on Thursday.

Facing backlash over the union’s criticism, Titus issued a partial apology on Wednesday, calling the accusations of racism “offensive” but noting: “The intent of our letter yesterday was in no way to revictimize the Carter family and for that we apologize.”

There is not information readily available from the St. Paul police department about how many guns have been reported stolen in St. Paul. St. Paul police have recovered more than 400 guns this year, though not all were used in the commission of a crime.