Less than a year ago, the Los Angeles City Council voted to cut $150 million from the LAPD’s budget in an effort to appease the “defund the police” movement.
Now, city officials, including LA Mayor Eric Garcetti—a major defund the police proponent–voted to increase police funding by $36 million after a massive spike in crime swept the city.
The New York Post reports:
Los Angeles has been among the nation’s leading communities in efforts to defund the police.
The city council voted last July to slash $150 million from the LAPD budget, while voters in November approved a measure to devote 10 percent of the city’s general fund to non-police public safety measures.
The region, however, has seen a sudden upswing in a variety of crimes over the past year.
Los Angeles Police Chief Michael Moore lamented in January a more than eight-fold rise in shootings, from 59 in the first two weeks of 2021 compared with just 7 at the same time last year.
As of late November 2020, Los Angeles recorded 300 homicides, a tragic milestone not reached since 2009. Killings were reportedly up 25 percent since 2019 and shootings were up more than 32 percent.
Due to a large uptick in crime in recent months, Los Angeles County is now planning to increase their police budget by $36,000,000
How did that “defund the police” plan work out?
????
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) March 27, 2021
In June 2020, when Mayor Garcetti announced the impending cuts to the LAPD, he boasted, “This is bigger than just a budget, but I want you to know we will not be increasing our police budget — how can we at this moment?”
Instead, the mayor vowed to use the funds to “commit to reinvesting in black communities, and communities of color; in those places left behind.”
Minneapolis Approves MILLIONS in Additional Funding for Police After Pushing to Defund
The city of Minneapolis has rolled back its original plan to defund the police after residents grew outraged over an increase in violent crime and longer police response times.
On Friday, the City Council unanimously approved $6.4 million in funding which the police requested.
Fox News reports:
The department says it only has 638 officers available to work — roughly 200 fewer than usual. An unprecedented number of officers quit or went on extended medical leave after Floyd’s death and the unrest that followed.
With new recruit classes, the city anticipates it will have 674 officers available at the end of the year, with another 28 in the hiring process, the Star Tribune reported.
In December, the City Council unanimously voted to remove approximately $8 million from the police department budget and redirect it towards violence prevention services and a mental health response.
U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) voiced her support for the $8 million decrease in funding for Minneapolis police in November, tweeting “Don’t fall for the fear-driven narratives .We can craft a justice system that prioritizes people’s basic needs like mental health + violence prevention, & allow the city to put public safety first.”
Don't fall for the fear-driven narratives.
We can craft a justice system that prioritizes people’s basic needs like mental health + violence prevention, & allow the city to put public safety first.
S/o @lisabendermpls @CunninghamMPLS & @SteveFletcher33 https://t.co/oBXCQyvIDq
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) November 30, 2020
For the full report, click HERE.
Obama Criticizes "Defund The Police" Agenda in Online Interview, Says it Hurt the Democrat Party
In an online interview former President Barack Obama didn’t hold back his criticisms of the outrageous and dangerous “Defund the Police” movement pushed by the Democrat party.
Speaking on Snapchat’s “Good Luck America” with Peter Hamby, Obama accused anti-police activists of not reaching a broader audience since they are too busy trying to please one another.
“You lost a big audience the minute you say it,” he said of the slogan.
“The key is deciding, do you want to actually get something done, or do you want to feel good among the people you already agree with?” Obama told Hamby, according to Axios.
Obama’s former vice president, Joe Biden, alienated “defund the police” activists in the Democratic Party when he said during his presidential run that he didn’t support the effort – even though he claimed to support banning chokeholds and creating a national police oversight committee.
Police department policies and behaviors have drawn intense scrutiny nationwide following the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis – as well as protests and rioting in multiple cities.
Progressive lawmakers such as Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., have voiced support for the defund movement. Both initially opposed Biden’s campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, backing Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., instead.
But moderate Democrats including House Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C., have called the defund effort left-wing “foolishness,” and Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, alleged it “hurt a lot of our candidates” in the Nov. 3 elections.
Who would have known that saying “Defund the Police” would backfire? I guess democrats haven’t learned that trying to one-up each other in their social justice warrior echo chambers does not appeal to the rest of America.
