Attorney General William Barr said that the “defund the police” movement that was sparked in the midst of Black Lives Matter protests will devastate inner-city communities.
“These communities are not going to have the safety,” Barr told Fox News on Thursday evening. “Now, a lot of the liberals will buy themselves out of that. They’ll go to resort towns and so forth, and they’ll escape the consequences of it. But the people in the inner cities won’t. Their lives will be destroyed.”
Barr added that those communities “won’t have the opportunity they otherwise would have,” adding: “Their schools will be overrun by gangs. That’s not caring about black lives.”
The attorney general has been a critic of cities across the United States, such as Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Seattle, and New York City, that have advocated for cutting funding for or even disbanding their police departments. The movement was part of the protests, civil unrest, and riots triggered by the death of George Floyd death in Minneapolis Police custody.
“I’ve said repeatedly that, to my mind, there is no more noble profession in our country than serving as a law enforcement officer,” Barr said last month at a public event. “The police put their lives and well-being on the line every day for us, and their jobs have never been more difficult than it is today.”
Meanwhile, Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best recently resigned after the city moved to slash funding to the police department.
Barr said Best “is an example of the highly competent and professional and dedicated police professionals we have in this country,” adding that the United States is “blessed with that throughout the country.”
In a press conference this week, Best said that she resigned after $4 million was cut from the department’s budget after a City Council vote.
“I really think that we needed to have a plan moving forward. It was highly disappointing not to see that,” Best said. “It really is about the overarching lack of respect for the officers,” she added later.
Seattle was the site of the so-called Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ), also known as the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (CHOP), which was started in early June before it was disbanded at the end of the month. It came after the police department’s nearby precinct building was abandoned before it was reclaimed when the autonomous zone was dismantled. The occupation was tolerated by city officials until two people were shot and killed in the area.
Defund the Police? … Instead, let’s start by defunding the Politicians! If they’re NOT DOING THEIR JOB TO PROTECT THEIR CITIZENS they should be asked to step down from office! And if they don’t do that, then they should be fired! Now BLM are attacking the suburbs and demanding that the residents give them their homes and their money as “Reparations for Slavery”! … Excuse me, but if anyone is due Reparations it’s the descendants of Union soldiers who died to free slaves!!! What’s never mentioned by BLM is that most of their ancestors were SOLD INTO SLAVERY BY THEIR OWN AFRICAN TRIBAL CHIEFS TO OBTAIN GUNS, FOOD & TOOLS! Reparations? How about a One Way Ticket to the African country of their choice so they can then be truly happy!
Thank GOD I DO NOT live in the inner city war zone
Cities are to be avoided if at all possible
Defund the police and then we won’t have an America!!!
Yes! You are correct Mr. Barr, but only those of us with common sense know it.
There isn’t much of the inner city left to destroy.
I think it’s wrong to defund the our police officers because of one or two bad apples it’s like every profession we have good and bad people and yes something needs to be done but not our security which are our police officers and to top it off just fund the murdering of innocent unborn babies. I am so disappointed with Governor Abbott for allowing this, all I can say is God help us, in the mean time I will keep praying and I will vote. Good day and God bless!!!
The inner cities are just the beginning. Even now, they are trying with the suburbs in some areas. And, of course, the end game is to destroy as much as possible. What does any thinking person expect from these Communists?
We need to support law enforcement. There are bad apples in many professions. Our judicial system needs to work and hold people accountable. All lives matter!! I back the blue. We need term limits for Congress and if they are not listening to our needs the swamp needs to be drained.
THEN PEOPLE IN THE INNER CITIES WHO DO NOT WANT TO DEFUND THE POLICE MUST SPEAK UP! VOTE FOR THE PEOPLE WHO WANT TO DEFEND YOU AND HELP YOU. IT’S YOUR RESPONSIBILITY