October 10, 2023

The Honorable Deb Haaland

U.S. Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20240

Dear Secretary Haaland:

The recent news reports that have surfaced regarding your Principal Deputy Communications Director, Tyler
Cherry, and his social media interactions have caught the attention of the members of the US Park Police
Fraternal Order of Police (USPPFOP).

Let me begin by assuring you that our perspective on this matter is based solely on his public statements, made
as an adult, regarding law enforcement.

Our officers -- and their families -- are deeply troubled by Mr. Cherry's hateful and extremist views on law
enforcement that he seems all too willing to share with the American public. For example, Mr. Cherry tweeted
that:

 “police often don’t respond to violence, but rather incite it.”

 "the modern police system is a direct evolution of slave patrols and lynch mobs."
 “police brutality is state-sanctioned.”
 “[I’m] praying … for an end to a capitalistic police state motivated by explicit and implicit racial biases.”
 "[it’s time to] abolish ICE.”

If Mr. Cherry is comfortable making such offensive statements in a public forum, I shudder to think about the
views he must share privately within the halls of the DOI surrounded by decisionmakers who help steer the
wheels of democracy. It is hardly unreasonable for officers to bear suspicions that such views are rooted in, and
cultivated by, the years of DOI neglect of the US Park Police.

While Mr. Cherry is entitled to hold and express extremist, dogmatic views about law enforcement, these
statements clearly disqualify him from holding such an important position near the very top of our agency. The
Department of Interior employs roughly 3,000 federal law enforcement officers and while I only speak on behalf
of the 350 who are members of the USPPFOP, I can assure you that we are all deeply troubled by his leadership
position in our chain of command. For all of these reasons, and in a plea for you to reassure your law
enforcement officers that you reject hateful and dangerous anti-police rhetoric, I urge you to demand Mr.
Cherry's resignation immediately.

Kenneth Spencer, Chairman

USPP Fraternal Order of Police

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Fraternal Order of Police- United States Park Police Labor Committee