UCOPS Welcomes Louis Civello as New President

The United Coalition of Public Safety is proud to announce Louis Civello as the new President of UCOPS.

Civello, who serves as President of the Suffolk County Police Benevolent Association, brings a proven record of leadership and a steadfast commitment to advocating for the rights, safety, and professional dignity of law enforcement officers. His experience representing public safety professionals makes him well suited to help guide UCOPS as the organization continues building relationships that keep communities safe.

UCOPS remains committed to supporting law enforcement officers across the country, strengthening public safety partnerships, and advocating for the men and women who serve their communities every day. Under President Civello’s leadership, UCOPS looks forward to continuing that mission with focus, unity, and purpose.

UCOPS also extends its sincere gratitude to former President Mike Solan for his years of dedicated service. President Solan’s leadership, commitment, and unwavering support for law enforcement helped advance the organization’s mission and strengthen its national voice.

We congratulate President Solan on his retirement and wish him many years of health and happiness.

As UCOPS moves forward, we remain focused on our core mission: building relationships to keep our communities safe.

UCOPS Endorses Kash Patel for Director of the FBI

UCOPS fully endorses the nomination of Kash Patel to serve as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). UCOPS President, Mike Solan will be attending Mr. Patel’s confirmation hearing in Washington DC, on Thursday January 30th, to lend support during the process.

H.R. 82, the Social Security Fairness Act

We are excited to share significant news from Capitol Hill: H.R. 82, the Social Security Fairness Act, has passed the Senate with a decisive bipartisan vote of 76-20. This crucial legislation is now headed to President Biden’s desk, where his signature is expected.

As you may know, H.R. 82 aims to repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO), which have long impacted the financial security of public safety professionals, including police officers.

During the Senate proceedings, there were large proposed amendments to the bill, but none succeeded. Our DC team was plugged in all day regarding the amendments, and this vote immediately sped up after Congress averted a shutdown with a clean Continuing Resolution.

Looking ahead, UCOPS is committed to ensuring a smooth implementation process for this historic legislation. We will be engaging closely with the incoming administration to address key questions and provide guidance on what this means for our members and their families.

As updates become available, we will keep you informed every step of the way.

Mike Solan, President

UCOPS

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On the Death of Tyre Nichols

The brutal beating of Tyre Nichols is a failure of basic humanity. And the fact that Mr. Nichols was killed at the hands of 5 Memphis police officers, who have since been fired and criminally charged, disgraces the badge we wear and the oaths we take to protect and serve our communities.

It is important that we not mince words. What we watched was criminal brutality and the disregard for human rights, and what we felt was horror, outrage, and disgust.

In the weeks and months to come, there will be a time to discuss how to move forward and what can be done to ensure that higher standards are held for every police officer. But now is not that time.

For now, we grieve, and we stand with those who grieve.
We stand with our communities and all Americans in decrying this criminal act. And we stand with the family of Mr. Nichols and their call for justice.

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Overwhelming Public Opinion is in Support Law Enforcement

Los Angeles, CA – The United Coalition of Public Safety (UCOPS), a national coalition of law enforcement unions will release results of a national voter-opinion survey commissioned in January of 2020 on policing and public safety issues and call for a National Summit on how best to improve communication, transparency and empathy between rank-and-file police officers and the communities they serve.

The results show that 82% of registered voters throughout the United States surveyed had a favorable opinion of their local law enforcement officers and over 85% believe that public safety officers care about the people and communities they serve. While support for local law enforcement officers is exceptionally strong across all demographic groups, the survey identified that 62% of African Americans surveyed had a favorable opinion of their officers, an area identified for improvement.

“We are extremely grateful for the high level of trust and support Americans have for their public safety officers, it is quite humbling, said Paul Kelly, President of UCOPS. “Yet we also know there are segments of our community that struggle to trust law enforcement and we are committed to improving how they feel.”

“We believe one barrier to improving trust is that for too long law enforcement leaders have remained silent when clearly over the line officer-involved shootings occurred, such as the tragic and unjustified shooting of Walter Scott in South Carolina,” Kelly continued. “As leaders, we should be among the voices calling for accountability when officer behavior breaks trust with our communities and tarnishes our profession.”

The survey also found that 85% believe that public safety officers care about the people and communities they serve. Eighty-two percent of those surveyed believe their local public safety officers are honest and trustworthy.

“In the coming months, UCOPS will host a national summit to bring together frontline officers, organizations, academics and solution-oriented community stakeholders to have a frank and constructive dialogue based upon understanding, healing, mutual respect and open communication to improve trust amongst all stakeholders committed to safe neighborhoods,” said Vincent J. Vallelong, Vice President of the Sergeants Benevolent Association of the New York Police Department.

“We want to hear directly from these stakeholders, and we also want them to hear directly from working police officers about our experiences and our perspectives on how we do our job and serve our community,” stated Mike Solan, President of the Seattle Police Officers Guild and UCOPS.