I think it’s safe to say that the “Defund the Police” movement has been an epic failure both through the rejection of politicians and candidates for public office in swing districts who called for its implementation and the implementation itself in places where it’s been embraced, where we’ve also seen violent crime on the rise by double and in some cases triple digits.
BIGGEST Percentage INCREASE in CRIME in a CENTURY
YOUR America NOWhttps://t.co/82a0Bo240B pic.twitter.com/F3JvLOxiZE
— Che Lejano, M.D. (@lejanomd) June 30, 2021
Perhaps in no other Democrat-run city has the effort to starve police departments of much-needed funding been as much of a disaster as it has been in Minneapolis, considering that’s where the slogan “Defund the Police” gained prominence after the officer-involved death of George Floyd in May 2020. Their city council almost immediately moved to begin the process of stripping funding, and bragged about it during media interviews where they talked about “reimagining” community safety in the form of social workers and trusted neighborhood figures to resolve certain disputes.
As a result, there have been waves of resignations from police officers who felt like they had no support. Not surprisingly, officer recruiting has also been a problem in the city. Violent criminals took the opportunities that presented themselves and began doing their thing.
Residents of the city also narrowly escaped having significant staffing cuts made to its police force, but $8 million was still cut from the police budget through attrition, leaving police precincts significantly weakened.
But in an update that no doubt leaves “defund” proponents fuming, a Minneapolis judge last week ordered the city council to hire more police, saying the city was not fulfilling its obligations to its residents:
According to an order filed Thursday, the city council and Mayor Jacob Frey are ordered to “immediately take any and all necessary action to ensure that they fund a police force.”
That means the city must employ 730 sworn officers by June 30 of next year.
According to the Upper Midwest Law Center, the city of Minneapolis project only 669 sworn officers as of June 1, 2022.
The people who filed the lawsuit are residents of Minneapolis’ Hawthorne and Jordan neighborhoods. They are Cathy Spann, Sondra Samuels, Don Samuels, Audua Pugh, Jonathan Lundberg, Aimee Lundberg, Georgianna Yantos and Juliee Oden.
Here’s more from Fox News’ Matt Finn:
A judge ordered Minneapolis city council & mayor must hire MORE police. Siding with residents who say their lives have been damaged by severe lack of police. De-fund & re-imagine is not working.
— Matt Finn (@MattFinnFNC) July 2, 2021
Court doc says Mayor & council admit crime rate spiked since George Floyd’s death. Police force plummeted from 879 in Jan. 2020 to 690 last month. Need at least 730 officers, per charter. https://t.co/i9PhlHwaNc
— Matt Finn (@MattFinnFNC) July 2, 2021
You can read the full order here.
And that sound you hear? It’s the sound of attempts to “Defund the Police” in Minneapolis being flushed down the drain. It’s a great sound, especially for the people who live there.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member