From Stamford Police Association president David O’Meara
The Stamford Police Association (SPA), which represents over 260 police officers, officially endorses State Senator Ryan Fazio (36th District) for re-election. We know that Senator Fazio will fight to reduce gun violence, car thefts and other serious crimes. We also know he will support our local police in the line of duty.
Contributed photo: Stamford Police Association
While the SPA is historically silent in political matters, we endorsed Sen. Fazio in previous races and do so again today. We did not take that step lightly, but we feel compelled to take a vested interest in our representation in Hartford. Sen. Fazio has served with distinction in the General Assembly over three years.
While police officers are in an almost defenseless position to advocate for their profession and their long-standing body of work, his track records in office and in our community demonstrates he truly cares about the impact legislation has on the ability of police officers to effectively and safely fulfill our duty to protect the people.
Police have been under siege from state leadership and state policy, especially the misguided and poorly named “Police Accountability Act” of 2020, which has undermined officer morale, recruitment, and public safety. Sen. Fazio and has been opposed to this law and other anti-law enforcement policies without equivocation since he first ran for office. His and our warningsabout these counterproductive polices have sadly proven correct, as police departments throughout Connecticut have been dealing with recruitment and retention issues. The challenges police departments face in retaining and recruiting officers are daunting and concerning to the safety of the public. We hope that our legislators can change course for everyone’s benefit next term.
Sen. Fazio has supported policies to reduce gun violence and car thefts. He co-sponsored a new law to strengthen background checks and keep firearms out of the hands of criminals. He has supported school resources officers and consent searches to take illegal guns off the streets. He has also supported stronger policing and criminal justice policies to end the epidemic of car thefts, including to change the law to allow police to pursue criminals when necessary and provide real consequences to repeat felony offenders. Sen. Fazio will always work to support our law enforcement as he works to protect the public.
We are proud to endorse State Senator Ryan Fazio (36th District) for re-election.
Sincerely,
David O’Meara
President, Stamford Police Association