ALBANY, N.Y. -- The voices of a couple dozen expressed outrage about the keynote speaker at this year's annual law enforcement vendor exposition.

The New York State Association of Chiefs of Police invited controversial former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke.

"Mr. Clarke's rhetoric and his vision for enforcing the law should not be held up as examples to follow," says Andrew Joyce, the Albany County legislative chair.

Clarke has come under scruitiny for the way inmates were treated in his jail and his comments linking Black Lives Matter activists to political extremists.

"Their rhetoric, their hate inspires people who can't process things like ordinary people can and has led to the deaths of police officers, so yes, they are a hate group," Clarke told Spectrum News' Liz Benjamin.

Media wasn't allowed inside to hear Clarke's keynote address. But he spoke after about the controversy that tends to follow him.

"Everywhere I go, I face it. It doesn't bother me one bit. I refuse to be intimidated and bullied by these individuals that are trying to suppress my speech," says Clarke.

But Merton Simpson, a member of the Albany County Legislature, says it isn't about free speech, telling the crowd, "This is an issue of policy. This is an issue of how we operationalize community and police relations."

Earlier this week, the New York State Association of Chiefs of Police said they don't endorse Clarke's past statements -- instead that they wanted members of law enforcement to hear from someone with national experience.