The Ocoee, Fla., Police Department will no longer host a “Prayers for Police” event after FFRF sent a letter of complaint.
The department put on the event in May at a church, listing the purpose on a flier as “a period of unity as police chaplains, community leaders and members of the community join together to pray for the police profession.” The event was advertised on social media and hosted on police property. FFRF Staff Attorney Andrew Seidel notified the department that this entanglement with religion was unconstitutional. “Although we fully support remembering fallen police officers, it is OPD’s constitutional obligation to find a religiously neutral means of doing so,” said Seidel.
An Ocoee City Attorney responded on Aug. 2, saying the city would no longer host the event.
