If you thought there was a perfect storm brewing a month or so ago when those charged with protecting us were releasing violent inmates because of the COVID-19 pandemic, police ranks were thinned because of mass numbers of officers testing positive for the virus, and some states and municipalities cut off the ability to purchase firearms and ammunition, well, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet! The defund police movement is the newest fad, if that’s what we should call it.
Defund Police Movement Threatens Public Safety Across U.S.
Throw into the mix widespread rioting, looting and destruction with law enforcement largely forced to turn a blind eye, and you can see where much of the country stands today. But if you think that couldn’t get any worse, add just one more factor—some municipalities seriously considering “defunding” their police departments and opting for some kind of “community-based alternative.”
In the wake of the murder of George Floyd by fired Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin, Minneapolis has a veto-proof majority of its city council ready to push the “defund” button on the city’s police department. Minneapolis City Council President Lisa Bender said on CNN earlier this week that instead of having a police department, the city will construct a “transformative new model of public safety.”
While nobody knows exactly what that means, it’s apparent that Bender believes it means when citizens are being victimized, they needn’t expect anyone to help them. In fact, Bender believes calling 9-1-1 and expecting a response is exploiting “privilege.”
Police as Privilege
“Yes, I mean I hear that loud and clear from a lot of my neighbors,” Bender said when asked what people should do if someone breaks into their home in the middle of the night. “And I know—and myself too—and I know that that comes from a place of privilege. Because for those of us for whom the system is working, I think we need to step back and imagine what it would feel like to already live in that reality where calling the police may mean more harm is done.”
In stepping back and imagining that, of course, all citizens in cities that choose to get rid of their police will easily recognize that they will be seemingly easy prey to violent criminals, who must be laughing out loud over such nonsense. With no cops, Americans will just have to fend for themselves when the chips are down and those prone to violence see them as nothing more than potential victims.
And no, stating that we are in charge of our own safety is not in any way racist and is not trying to fan any flames. In fact, that’s the way it has been for years, based on some key U.S. Supreme Court decisions.
No One’s Coming for You
One such was the 1981 case Warren v. District of Columbia, which actually set a precedent that has been upheld multiple times. In that case, two attackers repeatedly raped and brutalized three women in a Washington, D.C., rooming house. The police were called by two women on the third floor who were hearing an attack downstairs, and officers responded but didn’t enter the building.
The two women called police a second time, but no officers were dispatched. Thinking they heard police downstairs, they came out of hiding and were discovered by the attackers, who spent several hours raping all three women.
Ultimately, the court ruled against the plaintiffs based on, “the fundamental principle that a government and its agents are under no general duty to provide public services, such as police protection, to any particular individual citizen.”
The only difference between then and a future without police is that previously officers had no duty to protect you. For cities that defund their departments, there won’t even be any officers to respond to your call for help if you need them, whether it’s their duty or not. If you think police response time was slow before, what if there were no police to respond?
Perhaps the only good thing that could come out of cities getting rid of their police departments is more Americans learning about their Second Amendment right to defend themselves and their families with firearms. That’s a good thing, because when there’s no 9-1-1 to call, one old adage will be proven undoubtedly true—the only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.
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