The District’s largest law enforcement organization has endorsed D.C. Council Chairman Vince Gray to be the city’s next mayor.

Gray is facing off against Mayor Adrian Fenty in the Democratic primary on Sept. 14.

The 11,000-member Jerrad F. Young District of Columbia Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police includes officers from the District police department, U.S. Capitol Police, the Department of Corrections, and 100 District and federal law enforcement agencies.

“Without question Chairman Gray understands that public safety must never be compromised for political or personnel reasons,” lodge president Marcello Muzzatti said in a statement. “He will be a leader that never shies away from the facts and know that in order to effectively fight crime and keep residents safe, we must first have a clear understanding of the amount of crime that is occurring in our city and the root causes of those crimes.”

The FOP includes the membership of the police union, which has repeatedly squared off against the Fenty administration and police Chief Cathy Lanier over issues ranging from the department’s “All Hands on Deck” weekends, to crime statistics and labor issues.