Moment of Silence for Fallen Cops Marred by Jeering at DNC Convention

A hard-won moment of silence for fallen police officers Thursday night at the Democratic National Convention was marred by chants from the crowd of “black lives matter!” in an ugly moment that angered law enforcement representatives and underscored the anti-cop climate that has gripped the nation.

After the mothers of black men who had been killed in racially charged incidents were welcomed onto the stage earlier in the week, Philadelphia’s Fraternal Order of Police chapter pressed the DNC to honor fallen cops. Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez was invited to speak about the five cops killed in her city July 7, and said she and her fellow officers took the job to “serve and protect, not to hate and discriminate.”

When Valdez asked the crowd to join her in a moment of silence for cops killed in the line of duty, jeers erupted from the crowd.

“Please help me to honor ALL of America’s fallen officers with a moment of silence,” as the anti-police group’s namesake slogan echoed through the Wells Fargo Center.

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Statistics show the number of police officers killed in the line of duty had been on a downward trajectory since 1970. But this year, cop deaths are up more than 50 percent, and the victims in Dallas, Baton Rouge and other cases were targeted for assassination rather than killed in the process of confronting dangerous criminals.

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