Washington (CNN) The superintendent of the Chicago Police Department will not attend President Donald Trump's speech during next week's conference of police chiefs even though it's being held in the city, citing the President's race rhetoric and immigration policies.

Eddie Johnson's decision apparently prompted the board of the city's police union to issue a no-confidence vote in him.

"While today's decision is from the Board and not the active (Fraternal Order of Police) membership, I understand and respect that the Lodge is upset about the decision to not stand with the president," Johnson said in a statement released by the Chicago Police Department. "As police officers, our job is to be the voice for the voiceless and ambassadors to the communities that we serve. I can't in good conscience stand by while racial insults and hatred are cast from the Oval Office, or Chicago is held hostage because of our views on New Americans."

Johnson first announced that he was skipping Trump's address to the International Association of Chiefs of Police Annual Convention in a brief statement earlier in the week, saying the "values of the people of Chicago are more important than anything that he would have to say."

Trump has frequently stoked racial tensions while in office, and he stirred a new controversy earlier this week when he described House Democrats' impeachment inquiry as a "lynching." He's also sharply criticized so-called "sanctuary cities" -- a broad term applied to jurisdictions with policies designed to limit cooperation with or involvement in federal immigration enforcement actions -- and Chicago is one of them

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