Citizens Behind the Badge Forms Advisory Council to Help Them Stop the 'Defund the Police' Movement

McLean, VA (July 11, 2022) – Citizens Behind the Badge (CBB), a nonprofit advocacy organization with more than 100,000 supporters nationwide, announced today the formation of a Law Enforcement Advisory Council that will help guide them in their mission to stop the “defund the police” movement and ensure that America’s policing professionals receive the resources they need to keep our communities safe.

According to CBB founder and president, Craig W. Floyd, “The Council will lend their vast law enforcement experience and expertise to help us in developing and implementing appropriate programs, policy positions and other activities necessary to address our nation’s current public safety crisis caused by the ‘defund the police’ movement.”

“Police budgets have been slashed, officers have left the profession in droves, recruitment is way down, record-high numbers of officers are dying in the line-of-duty, and crime across the nation has skyrocketed,” Mr. Floyd declared.  “To make matters worse, soft-on-crime politicians are demoralizing our officers with their lack of support, and making it more dangerous to serve in law enforcement,” he added.

To help CBB carry out its mission, Mr. Floyd said, “We have recruited some of the most accomplished law enforcement leaders in the nation to serve on the Council.  They include police chiefs, county sheriffs, top federal executives, union presidents, law enforcement trainers, media celebrities and some of the most highly decorated officers in America.”  The Council is being chaired by Bill Erfurth, a retired Miami-Dade (FL) Police lieutenant and a founding board member of CBB.

Inaugural members of CBB’s Law Enforcement Advisory Council include:

• David Berez—retired police officer with the East Windsor (NJ) Police Department.
• Steve Casstevens—Buffalo Grove (IL) Chief of Police; past president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
• Art Gordon—retired ATF Special Agent; past president of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association.
• Thomas G. Griffiths—Boston police officer and surviving brother of fallen Boston Police Detective Sherman Griffiths.
• Martin D. Halloran—retired San Francisco police officer; past president of the San Francisco Police Officers Association.
• James Kuzak—disabled Clairton (PA) police officer, who was shot in the line-of-duty and paralyzed during a home invasion.
• William Lee—retired police officer with the Montgomery County (MD) Police Department.
• Michael Neal—Monroe County (AR) Sheriff; and recipient of Congressional Medal of Valor.
• Louis Quijas—former Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security; former Assistant Director of the FBI; former Chief of Police in High Point (NC); and former police officer with the Kansas City (MO) Police Department.
• Richard Sanders—Chief of Police, Jeffersontown (KY) Police Department; former Commissioner of Kentucky State Police; former Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent; and former officer with the Jefferson County (KY) Police Department.
• Doug Scott—former Chief of Police of three agencies, Arlington County (VA), Fairfax County (VA), and City of Fairfax (VA); and former Executive Board Member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
• Betsy Brantner Smith—retired Naperville (IL) police sergeant; spokesperson for the National Police Association; law enforcement trainer; and author of “The Winning Mind for Women.”
• David “Buck Savage” Smith—retired Arizona law enforcement officer from Tucson (AZ) Police Department, and Arizona Department of Public Safety; law enforcement trainer; and author of “In My Sights:  Musings from One of America’s Top Law Enforcement Trainers.”
• Sean Visners—Deputy Chief of Police, City of Sunrise (FL); deadly force/use of force expert.
• Ted Williams—former homicide investigator for the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department; former federal special agent; law enforcement commentator on Fox News.

A complete biography for each of the Law Enforcement Advisory Council members can be found on the CBB website at https://www.behindbadge.org/about. 

About Citizens Behind the Badge

Established in 2020, Citizens Behind the Badge is a 501(c)(4) tax-exempt organization based in McLean, Virginia.  Its mission is to put an end to the misguided and disastrous movement to “defund the police” and to ensure that our law enforcement professionals receive the support and resources needed to keep America safe.  For more information go to:  www.BehindBadge.org or email [email protected].