Mike O’Meara, president of the New York Police Benevolent Association, teed off on the stereotype that all officers are brutal and unprofessional Tuesday.
"By badge is not stained by someone in Minnesota," O'Meara said standing in front of a group of officers.
He said officers nationwide reject the actions of fired Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin, who faces a second-degree murder charge, as "disgusting."
"I am not Derek Chauvin," he said. "We are not Derek Chauvin."
O'Meara asked the press and the public to stop treating all officers like "animals" and "thugs."
"I am proud to be a cop," O'Meara said.
Officers have 375 million interactions yearly in the United States and the "majority are overwhelmingly positive," O'Meara said.
“We all read in the paper all week that in the black community, mothers are worried about their children getting home from school without being killed by a cop,” O’Meara said. “What world are we living in? That doesn’t happen. It does not happen!”
