Seattle mayor calls for more police after six shootings in one weekend

[MovieMadness]

Seattle mayor calls for more police after six shootings in one weekend

The mayor of Seattle is calling on the city to rebuild its depleted police force after six separate shootings rocked Washington state's largest metropolitan area over the weekend.

"As a city, we cannot continue on this current trajectory of losing police officers," Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan said during a Monday press conference. "Over the past 17 months, the Seattle Police Department has lost 250 police officers which is the equivalent of over 300,000 service hours. We’re on path to losing 300 police officers."

Durkan added that the weekend violence is a "reminder" that there are certain emergency situations that require sworn police officers.

"We are creating meaningful alternatives," Durkan said in reference to efforts in the city being made to redirect funding and manpower to community based groups. "But, as I said last year, the city has an obligation to still continue constitutional policing and respond to 911 calls.

"It is a false choice between community-led solutions and police officers," Durkan said. "We need both."

The mayor said she will be submitting a plan to hire more police officers and rebuild the depleted force.

"Not unexpected, losing these number of officers, when city leaders talk about cutting the department by 50%," Durkan said. "You will lose employees. Families need security. Workers, even police officers, need working conditions that support them. We cannot just cut. We need a plan."

Over the weekend, six different shootings in Seattle left four people dead and seven injured.

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Democrats defunded the police and now crime has soared so bad they will have to beg police officers to come back to work.

[Sepiatone]

You keep beating that dead horse without ANY proof of any city actually "defunding" their police forces.  

Sepiatone

[hamradio]

Studies shows heat makes tempers flare.

[LuckyDan]

12 hours ago, Sepiatone said:

You keep beating that dead horse without ANY proof of any city actually "defunding" their police forces.  

Sepiatone

That was the slogan and Dems own it. They didn't even deny it until it started affecting the polls.

[Princess of Tap]

1 hour ago, LuckyDan said:

That was the slogan and Dems own it. They didn't even deny it until it started affecting the polls.

But it's really the Republicans who Defunded the Capitol Police in Congress in real time.

[Tikisoo]

The entire nation has erupted in violence, multiple shootings daily in every major city. This is the same thug mentality that riots & loots-opportunists. The "opportunity" is knowing all police departments are understaffed and you'll "get away" with your violation.

The PNW has an incredible problem with tent cities/drugs/crime right out in the open, keeping working citizens cowering in their homes.

It's just like NYC/Times Square in the 70's. Remember how no one wanted to visit NYC because you were sure to be assaulted/mugged? Mayor Ed Koch made it his mission to "clean up" NYC of rampant crime and did so by completely staffing & rehabbing the Police Dept.

The best "funding" of police is the addition of body cams-the constant witness for BOTH sides. My favorite thing is when I hear people telling police officers what to do: "you gotta send someone" or  "let her go" without regard for safety or procedure.

[TomJH]

20 hours ago, MovieMadness said:

Democrats defunded the police and now crime has soared so bad they will have to beg police officers to come back to work.

Please supply a link to provide evidence that Democrats have defunded the police. If you can't this is just another one of your lies you like to repeat.

[NipkowDisc]

for decades liberal democrats have championed the minimizing of crime and punishment so who are they kidding?

their hostility to the 2nd amendment is the most obvious manifestation of their sick scofflaw mentality.

the most important obligation / responsibility politicians have is to safeguard the life and limb of the american people...

this the democratic party has been failing to do.

 

 

[Sepiatone]

24 minutes ago, NipkowDisc said:

for decades liberal democrats have championed the minimizing of crime and punishment so who are they kidding?

their hostility to the 2nd amendment is the most obvious manifestation of their sick scofflaw mentality.

the most important obligation / responsibility politicians have is to safeguard the life and limb of the american people...

this the democratic party has been failing to do.

 

 

???

What had the democrat party( which does more truly believe in being democratic   )  done to bring about the mass shootings that took place during the Trump administration?

AND the two term BUSH administration?   They never had the majority in either house during those administrations,  AND too there was a sitting republican in the oval office.  

10 hours ago, LuckyDan said:

That was the slogan and Dems own it. They didn't even deny it until it started affecting the polls.

Really?   I thought it was just those angered over the murder of George Floyd that promoted and "owned" that slogan.  And slogans aren't  policy.  And how about listing names of democrat politicians that supported that concept?  And as it seems nobody can clearly DEFINE what the "slogan" really means, blaming rising crime rates on it is really stupid. But far be it that someone right leaning would DARE to connect right-wing support of anyone being able to buy as many of any kind of guns they want to any crimes being committed with them as part of the problem.  

Sepiatone

[JamesJazGuitar]

While it is true that major Dem leaders do  not support "defunding" they have not done enough to counter the views of the small percentage of Dem pols that do support "defunding".     E.g.   Cori Bush and what she just said this week,  doubling down on defunding.     Even CNN covered this from the political angle that such views (not supported by 72% of the US voters according to the CNN poll),   is likely to be the main reason Dem lose control of the House in 2022.  

So why don't Biden,  Pelosi,  and Schumer release a statement making it clear they don't support the "defunding" movement?   

My guess is because they are afraid of the Twitter pushback the will get from Dems like Bush,  The Squad and others.   

I assume Pelosi is working behind the scenes with Bush and other Dem House members but I that might not be effective in killing this "Dems support defunding" GOP talking point.

  

 

[Vautrin]

My friends and I loved to visit Times Square in the 1970s, though visit is the wrong word. We were just

passing through enjoying the occasional freak show while on our way to another part of the city. Americans

are always freaked out about crime. Even when the crime rate is down many of them are scared ****less.

This too shall pass. 

[JamesJazGuitar]

2 minutes ago, Vautrin said:

My friends and I loved to visit Times Square in the 1970s, though visit is the wrong word. We were just

passing through enjoying the occasional freak show while on our way to another part of the city. Americans

are always freaked out about crime. Even when the crime rate is down many of them are scared ****less.

This too shall pass. 

What shall pass?      You can't be implying that "this" is that Americans will stop being freaked out about crime,  because that contradicts everything else you said in your post.

 

[Vautrin]

1 hour ago, jamesjazzguitar said:

What shall pass?      You can't be implying that "this" is that Americans will stop being freaked out about crime,  because that contradicts everything else you said in your post.

 

High murder rates. Crime tends to fluctuate over time, so I wouldn't use one year to prove anything.

It might be the beginning of a bad trend or it might be just a blip. We'll see what happens over the next

few years. Thiessen had a column on defunding the police. He would give the raw numbers but he never

says what % of the police budget that represents. Crafty. 

[LuckyDan]

6 hours ago, NipkowDisc said:

for decades liberal democrats have championed the minimizing of crime and punishment so who are they kidding?

their hostility to the 2nd amendment is the most obvious manifestation of their sick scofflaw mentality.

the most important obligation / responsibility politicians have is to safeguard the life and limb of the american people...

this the democratic party has been failing to do.

 

 

Not failing to do so much as unwilling to do.  When DAs simply will not prosecute certain crimes, that's not a failure. I don't know who would be a cop in Portland or Seattle. 

[Sepiatone]

17 hours ago, LuckyDan said:

Not failing to do so much as unwilling to do.  When DAs simply will not prosecute certain crimes, that's not a failure. I don't know who would be a cop in Portland or Seattle. 

That's assuming(and incorrectly) that all DAs in high crime cities are democrats.  At best "defunding"  simply refers to less money to operate police forces or support for inadequate training methods( that wouldn't advise against an officer kneeling on a suspect's neck, for example) but NOT reducing the number of officers.   

And my bet is that DAs will not prosecute ANY crime, or try to with inadequate evidence.  More evidence(at least) than the suspect's skin color, ethnicity, age or sex. (Ha!  and you thought I didn't understand Texans!   ).

Sepiatone

[JamesJazGuitar]

Obama said that using the term "defunding" was not wise.     The term is now viewed as a major reduction in the police budget,  resulting in a major reduction in the number of police officers.     The CNN poll supports this with 72% against "defunding" but 68% in favor of re-allocation  (E.g.  assigning mental health calls to non police-officers,   traffic fines etc...).

The bottom line remains:  major Dem leaders need to make it clear they do NOT support defunding and then deal with the Twitter attacks from Dem leaders (like the Squad in the House), that really support defunding.