Delaware Community Rallies in Support of Law Enforcement

On Monday, Georgetown, Delaware held a law enforcement appreciation rally to show gratitude to the officers dedicated to protecting their community.

“There’s a lot of anti police type of demonstrations. Our law enforcement here in Delaware is probably one of the most professional, well trained, well maintained, well equipped in the nation,” said Delaware State Sen. Brian Pettyjohn at Monday’s rally.

Pettyjohn told local ABC affiliate WMDT he “wanted to find a way to give local police officers a boost in morale” during a time when police are a subject of national division. “I wanted to make sure that our law enforcement officers here in Delaware knew that as elected officials — and as people — that we have their back and we support them,” he said.

Even so, Pettyjohn stressed that support and accountability are not mutually exclusive. “As leaders in the community we need to be out there. We need to be supporting them and we need to be lifting up those who do a great job – but at the same time holding those accountable who don’t do their job the way they should,” he added.

Rehoboth Beach Police Department Chief Keith Banks expressed his gratitude for the demonstration. “We love when the community comes out to support the police department. There’s been a lot of things about the police over the past few months, and to it’s great to see the support,” he explained.

“They’re out there,” said Republican candidate for U.S. Congress Lee Murphy, echoing support for the nation’s police departments. “They’re front line of defense and we have political leaders in this state and across the country that are really not backing the police.”