South Florida Police Union Calls for ‘Dialogue’ with Anthem Protesters

A South Florida police union said they are willing to listen to the concerns of Dolphins player when it comes to police brutality, even as they continue their boycott against the team.

Last week the Palm Beach County Policeman’s Benevolence Association (PBA) pulled out of a discount ticket program with the Miami Dolphins after members of the team again took a knee during the national anthem in a recent pre-season game.

According to a statement from the Palm Beach PBA:

[T]he Palm Beach County PBA will no longer participate in this ticket program, and we are asking all our members, as well (as) members of the Dade County PBA and the Broward County PBA, not to participate either. If you have already purchased tickets to this game, we encourage you to call the Dolphins ticket office to request a refund because this organization obviously does not honor First Responders and the dangers they put themselves in every day.

Palm Beach County PBA President John Kazanjian told FOX Business, “I thought this was going to be a start for law enforcement across the country. I thought we were going to be ground zero. Except on Thursday night — watching the game — prior to and after, we saw a couple of NFL players kneeling, and that just shot it right down.”

Kazanjian also disputed the players’ claim that blacks are routinely mistreated by police. “It’s all about police officers and police officer brutality against black men… which is absolutely not true,” he said.

But, even as the officers will continue their boycott of the team, Kazanjian said they are willing to speak to the players about their concerns over police brutality and racial inequality in the criminal justice system.

“Hopefully they can resolve that issue, and we can get on, and we can prohibit them from kneeling, and we can attend some football games and have a good dialogue — that’s what we want,” the officer said. “We want a dialogue and whatever their reasons are we can come to the table also, and we can voice our grievances.”

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.