FOP BOYCOTT OF LEOAFFAIRS.COM

The Story

Of the 500+ Message Boards that LEOAFFAIRS.COM hosts, 3 of them are dedicated to officers at the Miami, Miami Beach and Ft. Lauderdale police departments.  For some time now officers at these South Florida agencies have been complaining about issues involving their local FOP lodges.  They have been outspoken, but professional, in their postings as they try to effect change.  LEOAFFAIRS.COM was, in turn, approached by these 3 South Florida FOP lodges and asked to shut down their respective Message Boards.  In support of the officers and free speech, LEOAFFAIRS.COM refused to permanently shut down these forums.  However, LEOAFFAIRS.COM did offer each of the FOP lodge presidents an opportunity to assign FOP people to help moderate the Message Boards.  It was explained that these individuals would be authorized to remove postings that violated the Terms of Use.  Surprisingly, the FOP lodges turned down the opportunity.

On 02/19/11

A Florida State Lodge FOP Board of Trustees’ meeting was held in Orlando, FL.  At the meeting the South Florida lodges gained enough support from other lodges to pass a resolution boycotting LEOAFFAIRS.COM and its advertisers (the vote was not unanimous).  This resolution was forwarded to the Grand Lodge in order to be brought for a similar vote by the National FOP at the upcoming National Conference in August 2011.

On 08/14/11 – 08/18/11

The FOP held their 60th Biennial National Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah.  On 08/17/11 the delegates from lodges all over the country were set to vote on Resolution #1 (boycotting LEOAFFAIRS.COM and its advertisers).  A Resolution Committee, prior to the vote, collected evidence on the issue so they could make a recommendation to the delegates.  The Resolution Committee also accessed LEOAFFAIRS.COM online and inspected the website.  When the time came for a vote, the Resolution Committee made a recommendation to the delegates to Reject Resolution #1 and not boycott LEOAFFAIRS.COM.  They could find nothing wrong with the website and message boards, content appeared to be positive and professional, there was not enough evidence to boycott, officers were exercising their first amendment rights and the CEO is an FOP member.  After the Resolution Committee moved to reject the resolution, President Alex Bello (from Miami Beach) and President Nelson Cuba (from Jacksonville) immediately approached the Resolution Committee and debated the issue.  President Bello addressed the delegates and informed them that the site co-founder, Chip DeBlock, refused to cooperate with them and to remove postings.  This, of course, is completely false.  President Bello essentially relayed that the existence of LEOAFFAIRS.COM was a detriment to his lodge and pled for votes to boycott.  When the vote was taken, the delegates were persuaded to Reject the Resolution Committee’s recommendation and to Adopt Resolution #1.  It passed.

Although the vote was unfounded, LEOAFFAIRS.COM joins a long list of entities who have at one time or another been boycotted by the National FOP: eBay, Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, Actor Paul Newman, Actress Susan Sarandon, Filmmaker Spike Lee, Filmmaker Oliver Stone, Filmmaker John Landis, Writer Norman Mailer, Writer Joyce Carol Oates, Supermodel Naomi Campbell, Musician Sting, Musician David Byrne, Musician Michael Stipe of REM and The Backstreet Boys to name a few.

• 02/19/11 Florida FOP passes resolution to boycott LEOAFFAIRS.COM and its advertisers
• 02/25/11 Email from Florida FOP sent to members referencing resolution to boycott. *VIEW EMAIL*
• 07/29/11 Letter from LEOAFFAIRS.COM co-founder Chip DeBlock to National FOP President Chuck Canterbury. *VIEW LETTER*
• 07/29/11 Email from President Canterbury to Chip DeBlock. *VIEW EMAIL*
• 08/15/11 Press release from LEOAFFAIRS.COM referencing Florida FOP boycott and upcoming National FOP vote. *VIEW PRESS RELEASE*
• 08/17/11 National FOP passes resolution to boycott LEOAFFAIRS.COM and its advertisers. *VIEW RESOLUTION*
• 08/19/11 Press release from LEOAFFAIRS.COM referencing National FOP boycott. *VIEW PRESS RELEASE*
• 08/19/11 St. Petersburg Times article on National FOP boycott. *VIEW ARTICLE*
• 08/23/11 NBC News Channel 8 coverage of National FOP boycott. *VIEW VIDEO*
• 09/15/11 Miami New Times Blogs article on local Miami and National FOP boycott. *VIEW ARTICLE*
• 09/21/11 Cop Talk Radio show with interview of Chip DeBlock about FOP boycott. *LISTEN TO SHOW*
• 09/22/11 Miami New Times News article on local Miami and National FOP boycott (reprint). *VIEW ARTICLE*
• 12/16/11 Law enforcement Website offers outlet for complaints, but draws criticism in Miami. *VIEW ARTICLE*