One of New York City’s most prominent police unions is holding a first-of-its kind internal vote to decide which candidate to endorse for the 2024 presidential race — but some officers already know who they think should be in the White House.
The Detectives Endowment Association (DEA), which represents 18,000 active and retired NYPD detectives, is asking its members to fill out a survey and vote on which presidential candidate the union should officially endorse, sources told The Post.
“It is incumbent upon our union leadership to understand how our membership feels before we endorse any candidate running for president — that is, if we ultimately decide to endorse anyone at all,” read a letter sent to members from DEA president Scott Munro.
The vote is the first time the DEA has asked members to collectively vote on who the union should endorse — typically endorsement decisions are made by the union’s president or leadership team.
Some members think voting on the endorsement is a waste of time, however, as they believe the majority of cops feel Donald Trump is the obvious pro-police candidate.
“Polling doesn’t make sense to me if they’re just reaching for a statistic. We know Trump is for law enforcement,” one police source told The Post.
The unusual vote comes four years after the city’s most prominent police union — the Police Benevolent Association — broke a decades-long tradition of withholding presidential endorsements and threw its weight behind Donald Trump.
Though the DEA did not officially endorse Trump in 2020 its leadership joined the PBA in speaking in the former president’s favor, characterizing him as a law and order candidate in the face of the Black Lives Matter protests and anti-police rhetoric which swept across the country before the election.
“Our membership is extremely diverse, our opinions may be extremely diverse. That’s why we want to hear from all our members, both active and inactive,” the letter read.
The DEA’s vote will be held online and remain open from July 8 through Aug. 8.
Participants will be allowed to abstain from voting, and also write in their own candidate beyond Trump and President Joe Biden, according to the letter.
“The world’s best detectives are members of the most diverse NYPD in history. With the results of this poll, local, state and national leaders will know how we feel and what we intend to do in November,” Munro told The Post of the decision to hold a vote this election.
While holding an internal vote for endorsements is unusual, it is commonplace for union leadership to advise members on whom they should vote for.
“The PBA would always send us an email recommending on who to vote for. I’ve been conditioned for guidance on major elections or elections that would benefit the NYPD,” the police source added.