New Jersey House candidate gives back to police officers with ‘Heros for Heroes’ initiative
Billy Prempeh says officers ‘deserve a lot better’ amid ‘defund the police’ movement
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}GOP congressional candidate for New Jersey’s 9th district William "Billy" Prempeh is showing his appreciation for America’s men and women in blue in the form of sandwiches.
Prempeh started an initiative called "Heros for Heroes" where he personally delivered meals to all the police officers within his home district, and the district he is running for office in, NJ-9.
"What inspired me to do this was, the police. They don't really get much of a good response these days," Prempeh told Fox News. "I'm real grateful for a lot of the things that they're doing inside of our community."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Meanwhile, as many in this country continue the vilification of police officers, Prempeh expressed that the "defund the police’ movement was a major factor for why he started this project.
"I wanted to let them know that that not everybody believes that…In fact, most of the people that I know are totally against that idea of defunding the police," he expressed.
New Jersey Congressional Candidate, Billy Prempeh (R), donates sandwiches for his 'Heros to Heroes' initiative. (Billy Prempeh)
"It didn't work in New York, and it led to lots of crime increasing in the city of New York…I see the same thing happening in Paterson, [New Jersey] as well."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FBI statistics show that 60,105 law enforcement officers were assaulted on the job in 2020, with 30.9% of them – 18,568 – suffering injuries as a result.
The New Jersey congressional candidate continued to say that the police departments are "super underfunded," and it saddens him to see "the state of the complex that’s being used by the Paterson police."
"[Police] definitely deserve a lot better, and I believe with a strong police force, we'll be able to have a much safer city…I want to let them know that, that they do have allies," he added.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}New Jersey Congressional Candidate, Billy Prempeh (R), donates sandwiches for his 'Heros to Heroes' initiative. (Billy Prempeh)
"We just decided to hook them up with some lunch…I told them, if you had lunch, throw it out because I got it," Prempeh joked.
Within a span of four days, Prempeh visited 35 municipalities and delivered 1,230 sandwiches to New Jersey officers. He mentioned he’s received "extremely positive" reactions from his "Heros to Heroes" initiative.
Prempeh told Fox News how he plans to continue to support the police if he was elected to office.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"First thing's first, getting the police officers the funding and the gear that they need…I see what's going on in the Paterson Police Department. There’s like light bulbs hanging off the ceiling and water dripping…it’s a really bad set of conditions," he noted.
The GOP congressional candidate stated that he wants to "hire the best of the best officers" to keep the community safe, and continue to support the officers that "put their lives on the line…take the time to work for us."
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The "Heros for Heroes" initiative was a kind gesture Prempeh created to show his appreciation towards the men and women in blue. Since he received such positive feedback from this project, Prempeh mentioned he may start delivering meals annually to state police officers.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I just wanted to put a smile on their face and let them know that…they still have support and that I really love everything that they're doing. It was just our way of saying thank you," he concluded.