Val Demings Touts Police Record in Biden VP Bid: 'I Chose Tough Jobs'
As a sixth-grader attending an integrated school for the first time, Val Demings wore an orange badge signifying her position on “school patrol,” which was responsible for helping students cross the street. It was her first taste of authority and rule enforcement. Ms. Demings went on to serve as a police officer for 27 years, capping her career in law enforcement as the first black woman to lead the Orlando Police Department before being elected a Florida congresswoman.
Now under consideration by former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign to serve as his running mate, Ms. Demings has sought to use her law-enforcement background to demonstrate that she could help reform police departments. As many black men and women across the country are protesting and describing negative experiences with law enforcement, the Florida Democrat said in an interview that she has never second-guessed her career path. “I served as a social worker, I served as a career law-enforcement officer, and I serve now as a member of Congress,” said Ms. Demings. “I would not change any of those positions or desires, because in each one I had an opportunity to improve the quality of life for persons who were forgotten and left behind, and I would do it all over again.”
Ms. Demings, 63 years old and in her second term in Congress, is still little known outside her district. She began to build a national profile following her questioning in public hearings during the Russia investigation—including of then-special counsel Robert Mueller—that led to her selection as a House manager during President Trump’s impeachment trial, in which he was acquitted in the GOP-led Senate. Her supporters argue her law-enforcement experience and her background of growing up as a poor, black woman in a swing state make her a good choice for Mr. Biden, who is facing pressure from some Democrats to select a black woman as his running mate.
Ms. Demings is the daughter of a janitor and a maid and was the first in her family to graduate from college. Black Americans are among the party’s most loyal voting blocs, and Democratic strategists see strong black turnout as potentially key to victory in some states Mr. Trump won in 2016. But some activists say selecting a former police chief would signal a Biden campaign failure to recognize their movement. Mr. Biden has called for more transparency on police records, body cameras and $300 million for community policing, but he hasn’t endorsed some demonstrators’ calls to reduce police-department funding.
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Under her tenure from 2007 to 2011 violent crime went down by 40%. But the agency faced lawsuits alleging excessive force that resulted in millions of dollars of settlements. Ms. Demings ordered a review of the agency’s guidelines after an officer slammed an 84-year-old World War II veteran to the ground and broke his neck. The officer said the man had been arguing with him over his car being towed. A federal jury awarded the man $880,000 in damages.
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In Congress, some progressive lawmakers have criticized her sponsorship of the “Protect and Serve Act,” which would create new federal penalties for those who knowingly target police officers. Ms. Demings said she sponsored it after two black officers—one of whom she had promoted—were killed in Florida, adding she understands there will always be those who disagree with her choices and career path. The bill was endorsed by police unions and opposed by the NAACP and American Civil Liberties Union. The Florida chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police—of which Ms. Demings is a former member—also backed her congressional campaign.
“I chose tough jobs,” she said, “and I chose to get off the sidelines and try to do something to improve my community.”
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https://www.wsj.com/articles/val-demings-touts-police-record-in-biden-vp-bid-i-chose-tough-jobs-11592645400 (subscription)
= new reply since forum marked as read
If, indeed, he is going to choose a woman of color, I prefer her over Harris and Abrams. (Not that my opinion matters one way or the other 
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