El Paso Police Chief Skips Trump’s Event for Heroes of Shootings

(Bloomberg) -- The police chief in El Paso, Texas, declined an invitation to a White House ceremony on Monday honoring people involved in shootings there and in Dayton, Ohio, because rank-and-file officers weren’t included, a police department spokesman said.

During the ceremony at the White House, President Donald Trump awarded medals of valor to six Dayton police officers and commendations to five El Paso civilians. He praised the bravery of the 11 people, which included officers who helped stop the Dayton shooter, Walmart Inc. and McDonald’s Corp. employees who helped victims flee the El Paso shooting, and one Walmart customer who distracted the shooter so others could escape.

The Aug. 3 El Paso shooting at a Walmart store killed 22 people, and an attack at a Dayton entertainment district a day later killed nine.

Trump didn’t present any awards to emergency workers or law enforcement officers from El Paso at the ceremony. Enrique Carrillo, a spokesman for the El Paso Police Department, said that the White House had invited its chief, Greg Allen, but that Allen declined because he didn’t want to be the only El Paso officer at the ceremony.

“No other officers from the El Paso were being honored, so he didn’t attend,” Carrillo said. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Also absent was Glendon Oakley Jr., an Army soldier Trump met last month in El Paso and congratulated for helping whisk children to safety at a mall near the scene of the shooting. Oakley said he received an invitation to the event but not in time to arrange a trip to Washington.

Trump’s visit to El Paso was fraught. The shooter posted a manifesto online before his attack that echoed the president’s anti-immigrant rhetoric. Beto O’Rourke, the former Democratic congressman from El Paso now running for president, said publicly that Trump wasn’t welcome in the city.

Trump and El Paso’s mayor, Dee Margo, had previously tangled over the mayor’s opposition to the president’s proposed border wall, and Margo described meeting the president after the shooting as a “formal duty.”

The Washington Post reported that several El Paso shooting victims declined to meet with Trump when he visited the city. The president was also criticized for a smiley photo op with a baby orphaned in the shooting.

The White House invited Margo to Monday’s event but he wasn’t able to attend due to a scheduling conflict, according to his office.

At the ceremony, Trump praised the award recipients as extraordinary American heroes. “These 11 individuals answered the call,” Trump said. Attorney General William Barr and other key government officials participated in the event.

“They stared down evil. They put love of neighbor above life itself. And we are blessed by their courage,” Trump added.

To contact the reporter on this story: Josh Wingrove in Washington at jwingrove4@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Joshua Gallu

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