UNIONDALE, NY – New York police officers also held a rally in support of the Republican candidate on Wednesday before an appearance by former President Trump at the packed Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, just days after a second failed assassination attempt.

Lou Civello, president of the Suffolk County Police Benevolent Association, said the union supported Trump because he is the only candidate who “supports the Democrats.”

Civello said the union’s support for Trump over Harris was a no-brainer because the Democratic Party supports anti-police policies, such as the “defund the police” movement and criminal justice leniency that has freed 42 convicted cop killers in the past seven years.

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Members of the Suffolk County PBA attend a tailgate party outside former President Trump’s rally in Uniondale, New York, on Wednesday, September 18, 2024. (Julia Bonavita/Fox News Digital)

“And it wasn’t the people who drove the car who were somehow loosely involved in the murder, but the people who actually executed police officers,” he said.

“We demand the death penalty for police murderers,” he said. “President Trump supports that.”

He criticized Vice President Kamala Harris for past comments that were both critical of the police and in favor of the “defund” movement. Harris, who is campaigning under the title of former “top cop” in reference to her career as a prosecutor, had previously spoken out in favor of defunding and floated the idea of ​​abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

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Lou Civello, president of the Suffolk County Police Benevolent Association, said the union supported Trump because he was the only candidate who “supports the Democrats.” (Julia Bonavita/Fox News Digital)

During Trump’s first term, Civello said, the former president played a direct role in curbing a wave of MS-13 violence.

“When they were cutting up children with machetes, he came to Long Island and stood shoulder to shoulder with us,” he said.

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Thousands of Trump supporters had arrived hours earlier to get into the 18,000-seat venue. (Julia Bonavita/Fox News Digital)

In one case, gang members killed a mother and then slaughtered her young child to prevent it from growing up and taking revenge, Civello said.

“They took the toy away from the civilian and he took it home to his own girlfriend’s son,” he told Fox News Digital. “These are the sick, twisted people with no regard for human life that made up MS-13.”

The Suffolk County PBA was the first police organization in New York State to endorse Trump for president. (Julia Bonavita/Fox News Digital)

The Suffolk County PBA was the first police organization in the state to endorse Trump for president.

The PBA held its tailgate party across the street from the Coliseum before officers crossed the street to attend the Trump rally.

The PBA held its tailgate across the street from the Coliseum before officers crossed the street to attend the former president’s rally. (Julia Bonavita/Fox News Digital)

Patrick Ryder, the police chief of Nassau County, where the rally took place, assured earlier this week that the venue was the safest place in the country.

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Thousands of Trump supporters had arrived hours earlier for a chance to get into the 18,000-seat former home stadium of the NHL’s New York Islanders.