Nobody is arguing that being anti-crime is a political stance. But Cook's letter goes way beyond that.
By quoting Luther King? I'm having a hard time seeing what you find wrong here.
The statement you quoted is one such statement.
It's hard to tell if you're being sincere, because what you pointed to as an example of a political statement is utterly baffling.
"We are all equal" obviously, clearly means "we are all entitled to equal treatment", not "there are literally no differences between any two people."