One of Florida’s top cops explained to the Daily Signal the harm the “defund the police” movement has already inflicted on law enforcement across the country.
The Brookings Institution describes the movement as seeking to reallocate or redirect funding “away from the police department.”
Mario Knapp, chief of police for the City of Homestead, says “defund the police,” which has resurfaced with the rise of Democratic Socialists of America-backed candidates across the country, only disincentivizes law enforcement officers from doing their jobs.
“[The movement] has already caused an increase of up to 30% of early retirements in agencies across the country,” the former Miami-Dade County SWAT team operator said.
“When officers no longer feel supported, they are no longer in a hurry to get to your house,” Knapp continued, adding that officers are now saying, “You know what, this may not be worth it.”
Additionally, Knapp, a more than 20-year veteran of the police force, said funding cuts to a city’s police department historically result in a rise in crime.
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In July 2020, amid the George Floyd protests, the City of Los Angeles slashed its police budget by $150 million, only to reverse course less than a year later.
Knapp added that the viewpoint of people behind the defund the police movement that police officers have to be perfect “100% of the time” is unrealistic.
“[They believe] police officers have to get to a scene, take in all of these rapidly evolving events that are unfolding in front of them, and they have to get it 100% right, 100% of the time,” the chief said. “The notion that police are going to get it right 100% of the time is not realistic.”
Knapp also disagreed with redirecting police funding to social programs, calling it a “well-intentioned idea” that is ineffective in practice.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., a possible 2028 presidential candidate, promoted the “Invest-Divest” platform in 2020, calling for defunding police departments and reinvesting resources meant for police officers, including their training.
“We call for a national defunding of police. We demand investment in our communities and the resources to ensure Black people not only survive, but thrive,” a petition advocated by Ocasio-Cortez reads.
One of the demands in the platform championed by Ocasio-Cortez is to direct resources “into restorative services,” such as “mental health services.”
The Homestead police chief described this desire to redirect the funding as “dangerous” and as the “most irresponsible mantra I’ve heard in the last 20 years.”
“Instead of defunding the police, they should call to strengthen the training,” Knapp said.
Other politicians, like the Democrat nominee for Michigan’s Senate seat, Abdul El-Sayed, stated that “we do need to defund the police” and redirect taxpayer money to social services instead.
The chief, however, used the common example of a fight, which officers respond to frequently, to hint that the politicians’ desire may possibly be wishful thinking.
The desired outcome these politicians advocate for, Knapp explained, only happens when the call the police respond to is accurately described over the phone or doesn’t escalate, which only happens around 50% of the time.
“Once the officer arrives, he or she notices that the ‘fight’ is much more intense than described and that chances are the person involved in the fight is mentally ill,” he continued.
“What are we going to do? Ignore everything that just happened and say, ‘Sorry, we’re leaving; we’re going to wait until the therapist arrives’?” Knapp added.
Cities such as Eugene, Oregon, have implemented this type of alternative police response. Eugene still has a crime rate above the national average.
Now, candidates like El-Sayed have attempted to walk back their remarks, which Knapp described as a political attempt to mask their true intentions.
“I believe some of them, but not all. I think some people were confused and wanted to garner attention for social services,” Knapp said. “Some people picked up the ball and ran with it, but I think many were genuine.”
“The good majority of the people who were using the term really wanted to defund and destabilize police departments,” Knapp reiterated. “It was reckless, it was wrong, and they were taking a victory lap at the expense of police officers, who are spending every single day trying to protect the public.”
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