WASHINGTON — Dozens of the nation’s top law enforcement officials have signed a letter released Monday urging the U.S. Senate to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court.
“As members of the law enforcement community, we write in recognition of Judge Jackson’s strong, effective and long-standing role in criminal justice issues,” wrote 63 officials from around the country.
Jackson would be the first Black woman named to the nation’s highest court. She was nominated last month by President Joe Biden to fill the seat of Justice Stephen Breyer, who is retiring. She began courting lawmakers last week, meeting privately with Republicans and Democrats. She will meet with more lawmakers today.
It’s unusual for police officials to engage so specifically in politics. Those named in the letter represent the nation’s biggest and busiest police departments and courts. The signers to the letter — addressed to the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee — include former New York Police Department Commissioner Bill Bratton and former NYPD official Ben Tucker, who just retired as highest-ranking Black official in the nation’s largest department.
