Thousand Oaks Police Chief Tim Hagel pulled out of a charity football game to honor fallen police officers after he found out organizers had invited Republicans as well.
Fallen Officers Foundation Vice President Mike Randall said Hagel quit the Blue Bowl charity flag football game and convinced a number of sponsors to pull out after Randall refused to disinvite Republicans and Trump supporters, such as singer Joy Villa and actor Scott Baio, according to Fox 11.
“[Hagel] basically said over and over in the conversation this is not Trump country, that slogan ‘Make America Great’ is not favorable, popular, within 1,200 square miles, that we don’t want Republicans here. I could not believe it,” Randall said. “We were totally floored by this comment, ‘The only thing,’ and I quote, ‘The only thing you coulda made this worse, Mike, was to invite Dick Cheney and Sarah Huckabee Sanders,’ and I went, ‘Wow are you kidding me?'”
The Fallen Officers Foundation organized the Blue Bowl to take place at a local high school on Sunday. The foundation had lined up donors contributing thousands of dollars to the family of Sgt. Ron Helus of Ventura County.
Helus died responding to a mass shooting at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, California, on Nov. 7, 2018. The gunman opened fire inside the crowded bar close to midnight, killing 11 people. Helus, one of the first responding officers, was shot six times and killed in the ensuing firefight.
In addition to Hagel, Democratic assemblywoman Jacqui Irwin also called Randall upset that her former campaign opponent Republican attorney Ronda Kennedy would be in attendance.
Randall was forced to postpone the event after numerous politicians and sponsors dropped out and pulled their donations.
