NEW POLL: Wake County Voters Want DA Candidates To Reject Police Union Campaign Contributions
The popularity and power of police unions are on the decline in Raleigh, amidst recent controversy over allegations that the District Attorney’s Office puts police officers above the law, refusing to prosecute officers in situations where a civilian would face prosecution. Freeman has pursued just one prosecution for police brutality while repeatedly refusing to prosecute officers who seriously injure or kill civilians.
While most labor unions work to lift the wages and working conditions of their members, police unions have a less benign agenda. They frequently use their power to lobby against justice reform, support candidates for elected office who will not impose law enforcement accountability or transparency measures, and regularly defend individual officers who commit criminal wrongdoing.
A new Raleigh Watch poll of likely Wake County voters, fielded by Data For Progress, found:
By 23 percentage points, voters said candidates for Wake County District Attorney should decline donations from national police unions.
By 21 percentage points, voters said candidates for Wake County District Attorney should decline donations from local police unions.
By 22 percentage points, voters said candidates for Wake County District Attorney should decline donations from police union Political Action Committees (PACs).
In light of these results, which are described more fully below, Raleigh Watch reached out to both candidates for District Attorney for their reactions:
Lorrin Freeman, Wake County District Attorney, said that her “campaign has not received any such donations” this cycle, and that she decided over a year ago that she would “not take any campaign contributions from police unions.”
Damon Chetson, who is challenging Freeman, also said that he has “not received any money from any law enforcement unions, law enforcement PACS or other law enforcement associations, and will decline to accept such donations.”
This is a significant shift for District Attorney Freeman, and a sign of the strong headwinds police unions face in Wake County. For years, Freeman depended on and even flaunted a cozy relationship with police unions to fuel her political career.
The North Carolina Police Benevolent Association endorsed Freeman when she ran for re-election as clerk of court in 2010, and then endorsed her and made a significant donation when she first ran for District Attorney. In turn, Freeman ran campaign ads that screamed “Endorsed by POLICE,” and served as a master of ceremonies for the police union’s annual banquet.
The relationship between Freeman and the police benevolent association soured over the single case of deadly police brutality that she prosecuted. The case involved two state troopers and a Wake County Sheriff’s deputy beating a homeless man with flashlights and allowing their police dog to bite the man. The man died a year later, at least in part due to the injuries he sustained in the beating. One of the state troopers can be heard on audio recordings encouraging the other officers to hit Hinton in the head with a flashlight. Freeman pursued only the most minor charges imaginable against the officer, allowing him to plead guilty and avoid any jail time. Nonetheless, the police benevolent association still publicly chastised her.
RESULTS:
Wake County voters are more likely to say that an elected prosecutor should decline rather than accept contributions from the following groups:
We asked likely Wake County voters: “Below is a list of political organizations. For each, say whether or not you think candidates for Wake County District Attorney should decline or accept donations from these groups.”
By 23 percentage points, voters said candidates for Wake County District Attorney should decline donations from national police unions.
By 21 percentage points, voters said candidates for Wake County District Attorney should decline donations from local police unions.
By 22 percentage points, voters said candidates for Wake County District Attorney should decline donations from police union Political Action Committees (PACs).
METHODOLOGY:
From October 22 to 27, 2021, Data for Progress conducted a survey of 360 likely voters in Wake County using web panel respondents. The sample was weighted to be representative of likely voters by age, gender, education, race, and voting history. The survey was conducted in English. The margin of error is ±5 percentage points.