Donald Trump autographs a hat as he speaks to retired and active law enforcement personnel in Statesville, N.C. | AP Photo Trump wins endorsement from Fraternal Order of Police

The Fraternal Order of Police endorsed Donald Trump for president on Friday, praising the Republican nominee’s “real commitment to law enforcement.”

Trump met with the 330,000-member police union in early August and its endorsement bolsters his claim that he is the “law and order candidate.” The order’s national president, Chuck Canterbury, said Hillary Clinton did not seek his organization’s endorsement, and a Fraternal Order of Police official told POLITICO that Clinton did not send back the group's questionnaire until a month after the deadline for it had passed.


“Obviously, this is an unusual election,” he said. “We have a candidate who declined to seek an endorsement and a candidate without any record as an elected official. Mr. Trump, however, has seriously looked at the issues facing law enforcement today. He understands and supports our priorities and our members believe he will make America safe again.”

Clinton has made reforming the criminal justice system a centerpiece of her campaign, highlighting it during a particularly violent July week in which a pair of unarmed black men were killed by police officers in Minnesota and Louisiana, leading to nationwide protests. At one such protest in Dallas, a gunman opened fire on law enforcement officers, killing five of them.

The former secretary of state’s calls for reformed policing tactics have been met with criticism by some in the law enforcement community who see her stance as opposition to law enforcement. Trump, by comparison, has more strongly taken the side of police officers in speeches and at campaign events.

“He’s made a real commitment to America’s law enforcement, and we’re proud to make a commitment to him and his campaign by endorsing his candidacy today,” Canterbury said. “Donald Trump may not have ever been elected to public safety, but he is a proven leader and that’s what we need for the next four years — a leader unafraid to make tough choices and see them through."