Anti-police rants by top Interior aide cited in poor morale and low staffing of officers

Several key Republican senators have joined with the Fraternal Order of Police in condemning anti-law enforcement rants online by a top Interior Department official.

In a letter to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, eight senators said that the attacks by spokesman Tyler Cherry have led to staffing and morale problems inside the U.S. Park Police, which Interior oversees.

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“We are deeply concerned that the … statements made by Cherry have had a negative impact on the morale of USPP officers and, in turn, contributed to the staffing issues within your department,” read the letter organized by Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN).

Cherry is a former spokesman for President Joe Biden and the principal deputy communications director and spokesman for Interior and Haaland.

Hagerty and the FOP cited comments made online by Cherry from 2014 to 2018, including “the modern police system is a direct evolution of slave patrols and lynch mobs,” “abolish ICE,” “police often don’t respond to violence, but rather incite it,” and “police brutality is state-sanctioned.”

The letter, also signed by Sens. John Barrasso (R-WY), Mike Braun (R-IN), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Ted Budd (R-NC), Mike Lee (R-UT), Mike Rounds (R-SD), and Kevin Cramer (R-ND), seeks details of Park Police staffing to determine how bad the shortages are.

Hagerty told Secrets today, “Our brave law enforcement officers put their lives on the line every day to protect our communities. Anti-police rhetoric coming from the official spokesperson for the Department of the Interior is dangerous and reprehensible behavior. Secretary Haaland should immediately condemn this inexcusable conduct and provide comprehensive answers to Congress.”

Earlier, the FOP called for Perry’s dismissal. Interior did not respond to that call.

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“While Mr. Cherry is entitled to hold and express extremist, dogmatic views about law enforcement, these statements clearly disqualify him from holding such an important position near the very top of our agency. The Department of Interior employs roughly 3,000 federal law enforcement officers and while I only speak on behalf of the 350 who are members of the USPPFOP, I can assure you that we are all deeply troubled by his leadership position in our chain of command,” said Kenneth Spencer, chairman of the U.S. Park Police Fraternal Order of Police, in his letter sent Oct. 10.

In their letter to Haaland, the eight senators said, “Making hateful and divisive public statements towards law enforcement officers is directly counter to the goal of improving police-community relations, increasing officer morale, and recruiting and retaining a high-quality police force. Cherry’s conduct is unbecoming of a senior Department of the Interior (DOI) official. Accordingly, we urge you and your Department to immediately condemn these repugnant statements and take appropriate remedial action.”