The death of George Floyd, Minneapolis’s mayor, sparked riots which caused millions in damages across the nation. Numerous people were hurt and killed. Democrats and the BLM demanded the defunding of the police department. You had Democrats like Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) – who pushed for defunding the Minneapolis police department – all on board with the movement.
SUPERCUT: 7 mins Dems support defunding the police
— Many Democrats are trying to distance themselves from the movement after realizing how unpopular it is. Don’t let them down. pic.twitter.com/XNzytQ1SiG
— mike meyers (@meyersmike8160) October 13, 2021
But on Tuesday, Minneapolis – the epicenter of the riots – soundly defeated a proposal to defund the police.
Center Square
Question 2 asked voters if they wanted to replace the police department with a new public safety department focused on a “comprehensive public safety approach” that would include police officers “if necessary to fulfill the department’s responsibilities.” Question 2 would remove the minimum funding requirement for police (0.0017 per resident) from the Minneapolis Charter.
CNN: The ballot measure in Minneapolis, Minnesota to ‘Defund the Police’ is going to FAIL.
Americans are rejecting the Democrats’ ‘Defund the Police’ agenda! pic.twitter.com/r4ZcZbtcdH
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) November 3, 2021
The proposal was defeated by two fundamental problems.
They had no plan for replacing the police force with anything, said Police Chief Medaria arradondo who was against the idea.
“This is too critical the time to wish and hope for that help that we need so desperately right now,” Arradondo said in a press conference last week. “And again, I was not expecting some sort of robust, detailed word for word ‘plan.’ But at this point, quite frankly, I would take a drawing on a napkin.”
After all of the talk and effort to defund the city last year, the second factor that was able to defeat it was the huge increase in crime.
Minnesota’s violent crime rate has increased since 2020. Between Jan. 1, 2021, and Oct. 11, 2021, there have been 530 gunshot wound victims, a 137% increase from 2019’s 223 victims. The city counted 75 homicides in 2021 in that time, up 114% from 2019’s 35 homicides. Also, the 1,569 robberies counted so far in that period was a 50% increase from 2019’s 1,041.
Arradondo highlighted the fact that 87% are victims of violent crime within the city. So the very people who the “Defund” movement claimed they cared about were the people being hurt most by this movement. We reported previously that even The Washington Post noticed now that defund movements were being attacked in liberal cities.
All the national mayoral candidates are wrapping up their campaigns, promising to restore law order. It is a huge setback for racial Justice protesters, who just a year ago claimed they had forever changed the discussion on American cities.
Local elections will be held Tuesday amid increased violence and safety. Even within liberal urban areas, the discussion reveals how serious policing reforms remain stalled.
These are the Democratic politicians, who used to champion significant budget cuts or reallocations for police departments from Buffalo and Seattle. Other cities such as Cleveland have liberal candidates being scrutinized for their public safety stances.
BLM and radical progressive Democrats like Ilhan Omar suffered another defeat in Minneapolis. Reality and sanity are finally starting to trump the lunacy they’ve been pushing and the American people are pushing back.
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