After the murder of George Floyd in Minnesota, advocates of police reform called for the police to be removed, banned from strangleholds, and more effectively punished officers who abuse their power or display racial bias. Before any of those proposed reforms can take effect, lawmakers and department heads would first have to overcome police unions.
Over the decades, police unions have struggled to secure generous benefits for rank and file officers and have helped make dangerous police work more attractive to hundreds of thousands of officers. But when its members are under scrutiny for police brutality and harsh tactics, it is the union that often serves as their first line of defense.
The New York Police Charitable Association and the Fraternal Police Order did not respond to requests for comment from CNBC.
Watch the video above to learn how police unions work in a time of growing calls for police reform.
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