McCotter Introduces Resolution calling on Obama to Apologize to Sgt. James Crowley

Rep. Thaddeus McCotter on Monday introduced a resolution in the House calling upon the President to apologize for his inappropriate criticism of police Sergeant James Crowley. Mr. McCotter then issued the following statement on the House floor:

"Mr. speaker, tonight I've introduced H.RES. 680 calling upon President Obama to retract and apologize for his remarks regarding the conduct of Cambridge Massachusetts police sergeant James M. Crowley, Jr....

"After admitting his bias and inadequate grasp of the facts, the President nevertheless stated Sergeant Crowley had ‘acted stupidly’ when carrying out his duties as a law enforcement officer.

"Subsequently, in a public remark the president said that Sergeant Crowley had 'overreacted'. Sergeant Crowley has steadfastly denied any inappropriate conduct on his part.

"Speaker, this is the crux of the problem and it is a situation vaguely unfair to Sergeant Crowley and his standing regarding potential legal and professional consequences. Therefore, I ask the president should retract his premature judgment, apologize for it and allow the appropriate authorities to resolve this issue through due process.

"With my view, Kenneth E. Grabowski, Legislative Director of the Police Officer’s Association of Michigan, agrees. I quote Mr. Grabowski:

“ 'After admitting a bias against the police officer and an ignorance of the facts, the President used his bully pulpit to help a well connected friend by unfairly accusing an officer of misconduct in the performance of his duties. It must not stand. If it does, what officer will be next?' I end Mr. Grabowski's quote and I would add, 'what citizen will be next'." ...