Dem big-city mayors: switching from BLM "bullshit" woke to the Eric Adams pro-policing model, or not?

    Big news: San Francisco Mayor @LondonBreed has just announced a major crackdown on crime, including open air drug dealing, car break-ins, & retail theft

    The plan contains much of what I & my colleagues @calif_peace have been advocating

    This is a big step in the right direction https://t.co/4KXKAjJwdr

    — Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) December 14, 2021

    San Francisco Mayor Breed has for years promised to crack down on drug dealing & crime, and things have only grown worse over, so skepticism is merited

    But Breed's plan lays out big goals and makes very specific promises, including new funding for policing.

    — Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) December 14, 2021


    Most importantly, Breed frames her response just right: around the need for "tough love" not compassion-only

    Breed breaks from progressive crime denialists in saying "people aren't feeling safe" and "we need to change course on how we handle public safety."

    — Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) December 14, 2021

    "I'm proud this city believes in giving people second chances. Nevertheless, we also need there to be accountability when someone does break the law...Our compassion cannot be mistaken for weakness or indifference."

    — Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) December 14, 2021



    "I was raised by my grandmother to believe in 'tough love' — in keeping your house in order — and I believe we need a little of that, now more than ever."
     

    — Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) December 14, 2021

    Breed stresses law enforcement:

    "We will not just increase the resources needed for public health... We will devote the law enforcement personnel & attention they have asked for, and that is required, to end the culture of tolerance for illegal, unhealthy & unsafe behavior"

    — Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) December 14, 2021

    And there it is: more money for cops, made real by a supplemental budget request pic.twitter.com/A9sUwYMCxU

    — Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) December 14, 2021

    Again, this is not the end of the story. Many progressives are likely resist this at every step.

    But this could be the beginning of the end. Breed will need the public's support to do the right thing.

    — Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) December 14, 2021

    The good news for Breed is that the political winds are blowing her way

    Crime is killing @JoeBiden approval rating and is set to cause sweeping political defeats for Democrats https://t.co/o2Fr2NPhiL

    — Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) December 14, 2021

    What's required now is real change, which starts with what Breed said, demanding that accountability accompany compassion at every turn

    Leadership is needed to make sure social workers and police work together to shut down open drug sceneshttps://t.co/j9dMEFIjiv

    — Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) December 14, 2021

    Comments

    SF Mayor @LondonBreed has literally just called bullshit on progressive criminal justice reformers

    “It is time for the reign of criminals to end. It comes to an end when are more aggressive with law enforcement & less tolerant of all the BULLSHIT that has destroyed our city” pic.twitter.com/ewqheftUun

    — Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) December 14, 2021

    Breed's remarks are very similar to those by former Philadelphia Mayor @Michael_Nutter

    Moderate Dems are seizing a political opportunity in the widening public backlash to crime and Wokeism
    https://t.co/o2Fr2NPhiL pic.twitter.com/6j1VsHmBzB

    — Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) December 14, 2021


    Here’s former Philly Mayor @Michael_Nutter denouncing “white wokeness” and “white privilege” for resulting in more homicide and crime pic.twitter.com/05bLU1Tdqn

    — Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) December 14, 2021

    Will progressives denounce SF Mayor @LondonBreed — who is black & was raised in public housing, whose sister died of drug overdose, and whose brother was in prison — of wanting to "cage" black people?

    Will SF progressive DA Chesa Boudin go along with Breed's plan?
     

    — Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) December 14, 2021

    And... there it is. A straight-up denial of the crime crisishttps://t.co/dTwZSalMem

    — Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) December 15, 2021

    "Cages"https://t.co/hoI3AWCetf

    — Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) December 15, 2021


    Virtual crime, no safe spaces left



    Chicago's Lightfoot going from bad to worse?



    also:


    as for all cities in NY State and CA:


    Incoming Mayor @ericadamsfornyc assailed members of @NYCCouncil for sending letter asking him to reverse position on solitary confinement:

    "I wore a bullet proof vest for 22 years and protected the people of this city. When you do that, then you have the right to question me..." https://t.co/wFA6AwIWsN pic.twitter.com/PMz6L08tCx

    — Gloria Pazmino (@GloriaPazmino) December 21, 2021

    Responding to criticism of his comments from last week, @ericadamsfornyc says he does not support solitary confinement, which he says is inhumane, says "I support punitive segregation" for violent inmates. "If you are violent you must be removed from population," he says.

    — Ben Max (@TweetBenMax) December 21, 2021


    Adams responding to pushback from returning/incoming Council members & others. He indicates his comments were not portrayed accurately, that he is talking about a difference b/w solitary confinement & punitive segregation, says the latter can be done humanely.

    — Ben Max (@TweetBenMax) December 21, 2021

    Adams asks why those Council members didn't call him to discuss before he had to learn of the letter in the media. Says none of the signers wore a bullet proof vest for decades protecting the city like he did, so he knows a lot more about public safety.

    — Ben Max (@TweetBenMax) December 21, 2021


    She's a Dem, 62 years old, law degree, sworn into office Jan. 2019. She reps. PA district 5, which includes part of south Philly.

    Fox News national is playing it up big time, updated 4 hrs. ago:

    Democratic congresswoman who sponsored police 'reform' bill carjacked in crime-surging Philadelphia

    Scanlon was the second elected Democrat to be carjacked in a major city in 24 hours

    [....] Scanlon was not the first prominent Democratic official to be carjacked in a crime-ridden city in the last 24 hours. On Tuesday night, Illinois’ Democratic state Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford and her husband were carjacked in Broadview, Illinois, in the Chicago area, where crime has been surging [....]

     

    NBC reported 7 hrs. ago: 5 in custody after Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon carjacked at gunpoint in Philadelphia


    Exactly what many Philadelphians are going to think:



    ^ can I just say - because it's been bugging me - so much for tribal political allegiance by skin color


    this is a very valid argument not just bloviating Republican talking points for political effect:

    You know why NY’s ‘recovery’ isn’t happening? This photo today on the E Train at 6:45am at 42nd & 8th says it all. Why should working people & tourists be subjected to this? How’s it fair to those who need services? Imagine the cops’ frustration with no support to deal with it! pic.twitter.com/rpxNh6dCCH

    — Bill Bratton (@CommissBratton) December 22, 2021


    The new Mayor & Police Commissioner have their work cut out for them trying to fix this mess our political leadership & DAs have created by tying the hands of the NYPD. We fixed this 30 years ago when Eric Adams was a Transit cop. It’s going to be a lot more difficult in 2022.

    — Bill Bratton (@CommissBratton) December 22, 2021

    if you disagree than you shouldn't be agreeing with the lefties either who believe green spaces will help bad neighborhoods - that's the same argument

    I think this is the main thing going on - it's threatening to tourist types and middle class types in that it brings reality right up in their face of dangerous lives. If high crime happens mostly in certain neighborhoods, and they don't actually see it, they can just block it out and go on with things as normal. This way reality hits them in the face.and don't want to go there. Yes, in NYC and other big cities there's always been a demi-monde contingent, including tourists, that finds "slumming" exciting, but there's not enough of them with money to pay the bills.




    Left unsaid - this is a major Republican talking point and a convincing sales pitch to many:


    Nothing else needs to be said:

    Hours after politicians and police concluded a street corner conversation about crime in Lakeview on Wednesday evening, at least 14 people fell victim to armed robbery crews that swept across the area.

    Time to stop talking?

    Pic: @RepAnnWilliamshttps://t.co/lxuqUlSecS

    — CWBChicago (@CWBChicago) December 17, 2021

     


    AOC, unfortunately, is still pushing a "defund" meme, and spinning it, too:


    It's a literary device making a piece ("robo dogs") stand for the total (police funding/approach to policing). Perhaps cut AIC some slack and try to remember what policing looked like before Iraq when we didn't try (and succeed) to make the police all action SWAT heroes with deadly force first using surplus war supplies. And perhaps she should just say "more police. idea in the street who know how to communicate and think outside their taser". I'm certainly not against force, but I suspect police budgets have been more affected by Netflix and HBO than real life conditions and solutions. If course the politics flows that way too - if the public is deluded, you're not going to get far debating facts in the face of a tsunami of disinfo. Somewhere as Malcolm Gladwell hinted must be reams of studies on what actually works in policing and social cohesion, something that's not found in "the Social Network" and ... (Mark Hamill police program - ok, Mark Harmon NCIS, not Star Wars). Yesterday I saw a new Wellness startup that was all about the equilibrium and happiness a well-tuned suite of mobile apps will bring to your new life. Sure, Jan. Oh, and anyone remember 2009 when the solution to the crash was to bail out banks and Detroit investors, while leaving personal bailouts off the table as they faced robo foreclosures? What happened when all that property safety net and investment in one's community went away? So defunding the police is a naive take, but so is much of the other shit that passes for adult conversation on the topic, gun nuts enabling slaughter in the streets through unrestricted firepower in the name of "self defense against tyranny" being foremost.


    Whatever. Here's how this one Dem colleague is messaging and I am pretty sure he knows all about what she said and the similar things other Squad types are saying:

    Congressman @Tom_Suozzi holding a press conference at Penn Station talking about the increase in crime:

    “I came here the other day and it was terrifying. I mean, it was really a scary environment”

    Suozzi took the train to get to this press conference today pic.twitter.com/yS4HmM2pgY

    — Morgan Mckay (@morganfmckay) December 29, 2021


    .@Tom_Suozzi says that there needs to be a long term plan to address crime, specifically at Penn Station and “dealing with the homeless”

    “This facility has to be a premier transportation hub, it's the busiest commuter railroad in America.”

    — Morgan Mckay (@morganfmckay) December 29, 2021

    “I have great sympathy for the homeless, but it's scary for commuters,” @Tom_Suozzi says. “There's been a great increase in crime here, I'm not saying it's directly related to the homeless, because there’s been a tremendous increase in crime throughout New York City”

    — Morgan Mckay (@morganfmckay) December 29, 2021

    .@Tom_Suozzi, who is running for Governor, takes a shot at @GovKathyHochul saying she “has never lived in New York City.”

    “She's never commuted on the Long Island Railroad. She's got to come here and see this facility and walk around”

    — Morgan Mckay (@morganfmckay) December 29, 2021

     


    Whatevs backatcha - robodogs are probably not the solution for homeless sleeping on subways - nor surplus Iraq/Afghanistan equipment - (tho potentially they could be - but often our overoptimistic view of tech makes us rush to use some glitzy new solution before it's ready at the expense of more mundane but workable approaches - robo pitbulls tearing sleepers to pieces might not go well, but sniffing around a prone body may be less provocative than a police officer - tho what in practice would happen is prolly not so magical). 


    About 30 years ago I lived in Bethlehem PA with a exceptional young flautist. She went to NYC once a month to study with a famous flute player/teacher. I drove us there, parked the car near where he lived in Brooklyn. After her lesson we took the subway to museums, shopping districts, jazz bars later in the evening. Then took the subway back to our car, usually after midnight. We did this every month for at least two years. Of course we were "scared" about going to the big city but we never had a bad experience using the subway. If there was a homeless person sleeping on the trains it was so rare and benign that I can't even recall if we ever saw one. Apparently things have changed and those changes surely would have affected our behavior in the city. We would definitely have spent less time and subsequently less money in the city if the subway was scary to use.


    GOOD RIDDANCE, DE BLASIO! As they just said live on CNN from Times Square as they introduced a clip of Eric Adams being sworn in as NYC Mayor right after midnight: if there was anything Democrats and Republicans agreed on, it was that DeBlasio sucked:

     


    p.s. Just to be perfectly clear:




    Oh lookit the new Presidential talking points on topic! (Found retweeted by Yglesias):


    Watch live: Dearborn swears in Abdullah Hammoud, city's first mayor of Arab descent https://t.co/E7YNIMCsZs

    — Detroit Free Press (@freep) January 15, 2022

    ....Abdullah Hammoud, a state legislator born to immigrants from Lebanon, defeated Gary Woronchak, a veteran politician, in November.

    Hammoud is the first Muslim to be elected mayor of the city, long known for its sizable population with roots in the Middle East....

    I looked it up: both Hammoud and Wronochak are Democrats

    Incoming Dearborn mayor calls for unity, spending cuts amid transition

    Niraj Warikoo

    Detroit Free Press

    The incoming mayor of Dearborn has assembled a transition team that is working on plans to reorganize city government while also promoting unity after an election season that at times became divisive.  

    Mayor-elect Abdullah Hammoud, currently a state House representative for  Dearborn, takes office next month, the first new mayor of the city of 110,000 residents since 2006. Hammoud last month defeated Gary Woronchak, a former state representative and Wayne County commissioner [....]


    Hammoud is a self-described policy nerd with two masters degrees and child of immigrants. He ran on Covid-19 Recovery, Property Tax and Road Safety. He doesn't mention policing on his campaign website. Woronchak did mention it under PUBLIC SAFETY A PRIORITY, he said he's a proponent of "community policing."


    To be clear, the "Sedition Squad" citizen posse providing valuable evidence for Jan 6 via massive curating is doing "community policing". There is a role for greater community involvement, but it doesn't replace feets in the streets.



    FWIW, more grist for the analyze the vote-by-skin-color mill:


    On MLK Day, the "language of the unheard" thing very nicely clarified: Everytime a riot develops, it helps George Wallace.


    45 years ago white kids had this... what the hell happened?


    just for fun


    If I were a conspiracy person, I would say that the only reason progressive politicians pay lip service to something like BLM is so that A) Republicans will be put on the spot about how to address the issue and B) rioters will smash things up in low income neighborhoods and make it easier for real estate developers to sweep in and gentrify it.


    the striking tape of the flip flop by San Francisco's London Breed in mid Dec.:

    SF Mayor @LondonBreed has literally just called bullshit on progressive criminal justice reformers

    “It is time for the reign of criminals to end. It comes to an end when are more aggressive with law enforcement & less tolerant of all the BULLSHIT that has destroyed our city” pic.twitter.com/ewqheftUun

    — Michael Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) December 14, 2021

    What's especially striking to me is that it's extremely pro-taxpayer and pro-law ENFORCEMENT, the latter for the benefit of those very same people. Also she's basically calling woke excuses "bullshit."


    related:


    With numerous shootings of cops in NYC in recent days, the tide is turning against anti-police rhetoric? Police will again be seen as human beings rather than bogeymen?

    He was always smiling pic.twitter.com/m7YgeybyVw

    — XRPKickz (@JumpmanFiend) January 22, 2022

    Time to let it sink in that an ex-cop is now running NYC?


    Mayor Adams, talking "the police are us" talk, from Harlem


    many in NYC are well aware that the case of the Harlem cops shot were on a domestic violence call, and that they could have been dead social workers if the "defund" crowd had their druthers

    His name is Jason Rivera, 22 years old when he was shot & killed while responding to a DV call. His partner, 27 year old Wilbert Mora is fighting for his life. All NY, please pray. I am devastated, & furious at the hypocrites tweeting from the hospital. https://t.co/WHqVPu1m4H

    — Maria Danzilo (@Maria4Dist6) January 22, 2022


    Will "progressive" members of the @NYCCouncil even acknowledge the death of two NYPD officers tonight?

    They're all waiting for their official talking points.

    — Reza Chowdhury (@RezaC1) January 22, 2022

    Shocker...
    “I have been asked not to tweet about it at this time but I will definitely address it,” https://t.co/qM4v8fN9Fx

    — Reza Chowdhury (@RezaC1) January 22, 2022

    https://t.co/3YIdRpbwNf

    — Preet Bharara (@PreetBharara) January 22, 2022

    The NYC Council's new chair of the Criminal Justice Committee, @CarlinaRivera, thinks that criminals are the real victims and that the justice system perpetuates violence. It may be time for everyone to just leave. https://t.co/dNZ6imbT58

    — Enrique in the BK (@enrique_pause) January 20, 2022

    & 3 weeks ago...

    Is our activists lurning?


    owing to previous scheduling, Kristin had very little time to change the rhetoric:


    it should be noted that a minority still believes

    There is no irony here. It is a tragedy that Officer Rivera lost his life while on duty as a police office but @Kristin4Harlem is not a police officer. She is working g to address the underlying causes of violence in our city. Your tweet is misleading.

    — Gabrielle S PhD She/her/hers (@GabrielleShatan) January 23, 2022

    And that they are mostly Democrats and/or lefties. And that is the problem for Democrats in blue cities and Democrats nationwide. Here's the thing: most New Yorkers know that Bloomberg era managed it all somehow, that we enjoyed an exceedingly low crime and continually dropping crime for many years. It's not impossible pie in the sky, we know it's possible without the "social programs" that are being advocated as a supposed solution that haven't been proven to work.


    yeah:

    If she wants credibility for this effort she should spent one week on the local beat. Just a week. And report back.

    — Shannon Edwards (@NYLONDONBIZ) January 23, 2022

    I dare say this would work with many more centrist voters anywhere in the nation, especially as most are not as cynical as many New Yorkers are about politicians.

    And  Democrats affiliating with anyone advocating  the "Abolish" line is just plain stupid  The party needs to renounce those people as "not with us," stop making excuses for them. Like Jim Clyburne prohibited use of the word "defund" in the caucus after the main 2020 election until the special Georgia Senate race was done.

    Edit to add: Can't emphasize enough the reminder that the mayor of San Francisco has turned into Bloomberg on this front, loud and proud. If she can do it, so can all the others. Stop coddling the BLM radicals. Safety is the #1 reason for civilization, doh. To do otherwise is not just to hurt yourself with constituents, it's hurting the Democratic party nationwide; GOP loves it. The majority worldwide do not see cops as the #1 enemy, they see them as key to ensuring rule of law, there's better ways of going after police corruption than being criminal-friendly.


    more relatively recent Kristin-speak

    at least the accused perp's mom has skin in this game:


    Christ on a cross!!! Read this frigging letter the martyr Jason wrote Nov. 30, 2020 after the summer and fall of Geo. Floyd!!!

    I'd say maybe the only hope for Harlem "progressive" lefty activists is to sign up for the NYPD in Jason's name.


    In Baltimore, the Violence Interrupters are not faring so well; getting new recruits is going to be difficult:

    The violence interrupters need violence interrupters. https://t.co/O8lzfb5zjQ

    — Enrique in the BK (@enrique_pause) January 20, 2022

    City leaders speak out after a Safe Streets worker was murdered in a quadruple shooting Wednesday night.https://t.co/O7fypF4Qms

    — FOX Baltimore (@FOXBaltimore) January 20, 2022


    "Monday was one of the worst days in 21-st century Baltimore"


    To see the dangerous effects of bail reform and lenient judges, and how repeat offenders are being cycled through the court system and released to the streets, you need to focus on felony arrests. https://t.co/yjHwXjur1P

    — Crime in NYC (@CrimeInNYC) January 23, 2022


    ^ of course that is partly because there is no room in jail and the condition of jails extant are horrific. But there is no room because activists and politicians don't want tax money spent on them and think what they prefer to spend money on will prevent crime. BLM theory is that all people of color are inherently good and just need enough money spent on "social services".


    Another example of how letting violently mentally ill out on the streets unsupervised is working out?

     


    Conundrum along the lines of "broken windows". You're either for anarchy or you're for "social programs", you can't be for both. Somebody has to be the enforcer of the system you set up to do "social programs" so that those with the capitalist impulse don't co-opt it for their own benefit over others less savvy:


    as for those who excuse violence against other humans as the cry of the unheard

    “It’s racist to enforce laws against violent crime” is such a giant tell you would think they’d be reluctant to make it — only in a world where logical inference has also been disallowed would you even attempt it

    — Wesley Yang (@wesyang) January 22, 2022


    To be truly woke you have to believe that two wrongs can make a right.

    — Seán Ono Lennon (@seanonolennon) January 22, 2022



    RELEASING ACCUSED PERPS WITH CRIMINAL RECORDS IS NOT WORKING. Yes I am shouting. Maybe legislators are changing bail laws and judges are letting people out because of Covid and not because of BLM. WHATEVER THE REASON, IT'S NOT WORKING, you have to lock em up, it's just reality. FORGET the "REGULATE GUNS" thing-you forfeited that chance in 2020, is now pie in the sky future-i especially with ghost guns proliferating to add to the masses of guns out there (added to in mass quantities in 2020-21 not because of NRA Republicans but because of the "defund" movement and BLM protests against "gentrifiers" and looting of  small business owners ) these can now be sold and resold on the black market for decades.

    it's getting absurd:


    p.s. so well said:

    Furthermore, Derek Chauvin has now been ruled a felon criminal by a jury of his peers. Shouldn't have been on the streets, will now not be allowed on the streets. Rule of law, that's the way it works.

     



    Jilani's interlocutor is correct to note most people do not end up the victims of violent crime. But many more are reminded that the danger is out there, up close and personal. by stuff like this:


    Moskos writing a book to verify that it really was done by NYC, not anyone's imagination:

    Funny, didn't that period coincide with locking up lots of young criminal men in prison for crime, especially repeat offenders. Who is going to say it? Who is brave enough? No one in the Democratic party? Even locking up criminally mentally ill is a bridge too far?


    something that many in the many swing districts of Wisconsin are undoubtedly talking about:

    The shocking incident at the Waukesha holiday parade — in which six people were killed and dozens more were hurt after being hit by an SUV — has revived a debate about bail reform: How do you balance the rights of the accused while protecting the public? https://t.co/Lci2xfyFPN

    — WPR (@WPR) January 23, 2022

    admit I have seen this meme/tweet more than a few times

    More people died at the Waukesha Christmas parade than at the January 6th protest

    — Nancy (@womanfortrump16) January 24, 2022

    and I do think it resounds with many there. I.E., you really don't give a shit about us flyover whypipple, do ya? All you care about is getting Trump back, congressional grandstanding, partisan games, etc., you don't care about people like us.

    edit to add: while out on bail...while out on bond...while out on bail...while out on bond  = very popular meme; see it everywhere

     


    Mayors feel powerless to reduce homelessness


    Just a suggestion for NYC politicians: "Stop infantilizing criminals and focus on victims and their families"


    Very nicely argued thread from a well-known civil rights attorney/public defender about how domestic argument/mentall illness calls should be handled by social worker types, not police.:

    THREAD: As more details emerge about NYPD officer Jason Rivera's tragic death, I'm thinking about whether police were the right ones to respond at all. A verbal argument between mom/son over food. What if mom had a different option than to call 911? More:https://t.co/Ed4QJSeRgL

    — Scott Hechinger (@ScottHech) January 23, 2022

    Note how he avoids the whole race thing totally, doesn't get into political correctness, and how his argument is for the most part quite practical.

    OF MORE POLITICAL IMPORT, THOUGH: note how not a single commenter so far is buying his argument!!! These are more ordinary people- think of them as voters. This aggravates them, they think he is stupid and naive, they know there are guns in many houses, some may even have hothead and mentally ill relatives....they think life is not that simple and we need armed police on these jobs...they're certainly not going to volunteer to be those social workers..

    Edit to add: I first noticed his thread via this retweet, so that's another comment with more reactions:

    I keep wondering where we will get social workers to respond to 911 calls in situations like this. You have no evidence they would have even been willing to respond, let alone survived. Better bet is resulting harm to poor social workers instead of poor police officers. https://t.co/0Fcu3duLpq

    — Daniel R. Alonso (@DanielRAlonso) January 24, 2022

     


    Eric Adams going there -  including "contactless" stop-and-frisk and judges who keep those found with guns off the streets

    These are Eric Adams' plans to remove illegal guns from the streets. What are your reactions? https://t.co/B96254wh4M pic.twitter.com/oByEWyqkbF

    — Crime in NYC (@CrimeInNYC) January 24, 2022


    After damning report into failures that caused GTTF scandal, Baltimore Police show signs of progress, federal judge says

    By  BALTIMORE SUN | JAN 20, 2022 AT 6:26 PM

    For years, the Baltimore Police Department focused resources on reducing violence but failed to face the corruption within its ranks, an outside consultant wrote in a scathing report released earlier this month.

    But now, a federal judge overseeing a lengthy, costly and court-ordered reform of the police department, said he is seeing positive changes in oversight and internal investigations.

    “It’s no longer 2017,” said U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar at the quarterly consent decree hearing Thursday, referring to when a group of officers from the now defunct Gun Trace Task Force were indicted on sweeping corruption charges. “Significant progress has been demonstrated. There is still a long road ahead, but the court is convinced that the Department is now headed in the right direction.”

    The judge’s remarks came in response to a more than a 600-page report by former U.S. Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Bromwich and his team from the law firm Steptoe & Johnson. It detailed how a group of officers were able to terrorize a community, often using excessive force while stealing from residents, lying on court documents and committing other crimes for years, without any oversight or meaningful discipline.

    Now five years into the consent decree, Bredar said “it is clear to me that city leaders and police commissioners have known for years about a serious integrity problem in the Baltimore Police Department.”

    Bredar said the city’s focus has too often been reducing crime at the expense of rooting out corruption.

    “This imperative, to slow the shootings and the murders, has repeatedly displaced any priority otherwise given to stopping overly aggressive and dishonest police work, particularly if the misbehaving officers were seizing guns and drugs in significant numbers and quantity,” he said.

    Bredar has made similar comments in the past in defense on the consent decree process, saying the two objectives “of constitutional policing and effective policing are intrinsically interwoven.”

    Some critics have questioned the expense and the time taken by the consent decree process and raised concerns that the new emphasis on constitutional policing has handcuffed officers. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and Baltimore Police union leadership also have questioned whether Baltimore’s approach has been too lenient on violent criminals.

    The $4.47 million report by Bromwich was required as part of the reform process. [....]


    from self-described VP East 86th St Assoc, created http://E86th.org, Community Activist. Unabashed Liberal. Assoc Broker w Brown, Harris, Stevens, write AFineBlog, Love NYC!

    BUT him and his friends are just imagining it, falling for a right-wing fascist conspiracy of major media and corporations to make them think criminal behavior is getting bad, AMIRITE?

    Myself, I'm waiting for Bernard Goetz dejas vus allover again..


    Officer Rivera has become a hero-martyr:


    Officer Rivera's partner, who was also shot on the Harlem call, just died. So there are now two cop martyrs, both young:

    from Maya Wiley, the mayoral candidate favored by many :"woke" types:

    I am seeing police solidarity allover the place, like this:


    Jeezus, Eric Adams gonna do the BLITZKREIG thing today, national and local:


    America's Mayor 2.0?


    He's clearly trying. Successfully? "Developing..." I just ran across this mid-Dec. op-ed thar argues Eric Adams has already happened in other blue cities, and notes the phenomenon that the pro-police candidate have black or some other color of skin besides white appears to be quite beneficial:(I would argue that's because it takes a major amount of the gunpowder away from Woke type liberals, as they then have been hoisted on their own petard of stressing race over economic class! Playing the race card indeed...)

    In Big City Politics, a Call to Fund the Police

    Dec. 20, 2021 by Jay Caspian Kang @ NYTImes.com

    This past November, Bruce Harrell, a longtime local politician, won the Seattle mayoral election. During his campaign, Harrell, who’s Black and whom Fox News called a “pro-police candidate,” called out his opponent for supporting defund efforts. A week after winning, Harrell opposed a proposed $10 million cut to the police budget, saying, “The voters of Seattle resoundingly and unambiguously rejected defunding the police.”

    Since Harrell’s victory, I’ve been wondering if progressive, pro-police candidates of color may be the future of the Democratic Party, especially in liberal cities [....]


    DING DING DING! Another indication the political "narrative" is going to turn to CLASS, not RACE.  Lots of indicators that Adams is going to stress that. If other liberals/Democrats don't do the same, right wing voices are going to pound on it, cause they know it resounds with many:


    San Francisco D.A. being sued by 69-yr.-old Vietnamese victim of an anti-Asian attack for not taking attack seriously and later striking lenient plea deal with the perp:

    When 69-year-old Anh Lê reported the attack to the San Francisco’s District Attorney Office, he contends he was “ignored, made to feel invisible” and denied his due process right to be consulted before the office finalized its “very lenient plea deal." https://t.co/jSEAlxZGLz

    — Law.com (@lawdotcom) January 25, 2022


    scrappy Lattina Brown of da Bronx:


    U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore of Wisconsin's 4th district, which includes the City of Milwaukee with a large "minority" population, with rapid fire pre-emptive tweet today about a shooting in Milwaukee last night:

    Just more evidence that the favored narrative is turning. From now on I'm betting if Dems talk about humans no longer being involved in traffic enforcement, it will be along the lines of protecting cops, not drivers.


    ^ Gwen Moore's district demographics according to 2020 census

    Population 695,395

    Race

    42.7% White

    33.6% Black

    5% Asian

    0.9% Native American

    Ethnicity 18.4% Hispanic

    Here's Gwen's photo at Ballotpedia

    she won 74.6% of the vote in 2020


    here's a video tweet message from what I would judge as a typical representative white Milwaukeean (my hometown) laugh

     

    COLD AS FUCK AND DANGEROUS IN MILWAUKEE! MUHFUCKAS OUT HERE KILLING IN THE COLD! STOP THE VIOLENCE! pic.twitter.com/2Gkq91Qm9j

    — DAVID MUNSELL, WOODCHUCK FROM 3RDST,414. (@davidmunsell333) January 26, 2022


    Somebody shot a sheriff at 4 am! 64 th and Dixon in Milwaukee

    — DAVID MUNSELL, WOODCHUCK FROM 3RDST,414. (@davidmunsell333) January 26, 2022

    I'm willing to bet race is not something he thinks about that much...if he votes at all, he's probably one of those famous swing voters of Wisconsin...

     


    more like: wow, they hired some real savvy advertising & marketing people


    Enrique of Brooklyn vs. 'progressive' (self-description) NY State Senator Brad:


    noted by retweet of Peter Moskos:


    Arguments are getting more heated among New Yorkers than is usual

    it continues...

    I think the thing is: no matter what they think is the reason why, they know what it's like when there's a very low crime rate and the majority of people, all different kinds of people, even if ornery and rude, can tolerate and get along and commit to civilization. That that's not pie in the sky, that it can really happen and did for quite some time. That it happened. And that it not slip back to the old ways of being, that that is tragedy..

     


    whew boy, I also see some pretty strong tweeted replies to one of Kristin-of-Harlem's very special tweet storms, like this thread:


    also, currently pinned to the top of his feed:


    1,800 people per hour lined up today at St. Patrick's Cathedral to walk past Officer Jason Rivera's casket basically lying "in state".

    Like the elderly African-American man and women interviewed on this local news video starting @ 2:00

    https://bronx.news12.com/wake-for-nypd-officer-jason-rivera-to-take-place-today-at-st-patrick-s-cathedral

    They undoubtedly risked taking the dangerous subway to get there. 

    The woman says, in a teary voice:

    brokenhearted! because we're losing so many of our young men! good young men who wanted to do something to help!


    ^ maybe it would help if Councilwoman @Kristin4Harlem is made to watch the clip of those two over and over with toothpicks holding her eyelids open, sort of like with the treatment given to Malcolm McDowell in "A Clockwork Orange"?

    Oh and one note to cops: smiling when on the beat wins friends and influences people. 


    Four officers shot today — three in Houston & one in Milwaukee. A few days ago, a second NYPD officer died of his wounds from a shooting, around the same time another Texas officer was murdered. This is outrageous. https://t.co/nqdj0JGNiL

    — Guy Benson (@guypbenson) January 28, 2022

    OFFICER DOWN: Please pray for the Milwaukee Police Officer who was shot in the chest and abdomen, according to reports. This is the third shooting of a law enforcement officer in two weeks in Milwaukee.

    Blessed Are The Peacemakers pic.twitter.com/2fk3IciT6F

    — Tri-County FOP #3 (@scfop3) January 28, 2022

    The area of 16th and Wisconsin is also blocked off following the shooting of a Milwaukee police officer.

    This is the third time a Milwaukee area law enforcement officer was shot this month.

    Follow the latest: https://t.co/JvWdlR583F pic.twitter.com/0MBacwt6pr

    — TMJ4 News (@tmj4) January 28, 2022

    note the race of the police chief here


    Multiple police tires slashed outside NYPD precinct where officers were fatally shothttps://t.co/t35wB2d37O pic.twitter.com/ckMNngyd0b

    — 1010 WINS (@1010WINS) January 27, 2022

     


    wikipedia

    Cavalier “Chevy” Johnson is an American politician serving as the acting Mayor of Milwaukee. He is the Milwaukee Common Council president and Milwaukee's 2nd District alderman.

    Cavalier Johnson's father worked as a janitor for more than 30 years and his mother worked as a certified nursing assistant. He is one of ten siblings. He grew up in Milwaukee's 53206 zip code, known for having the highest incarceration rate of African-American males out of any ZIP code in the country.[1]

    At 14 years old, he was selected by the YMCA to participate in a pre-college program, Sponsor-A-Scholar, for low-income students in Milwaukee Public Schools. Johnson credits this for his commitment to community service.[2] 

    [....]

    After college, Johnson worked with the Milwaukee Area Workforce Investment Board assisting at-risk youth, youth entering the workforce for the first time, and adults retooling to enter the workforce.[2] Johnson worked as a community outreach liaison for the government of Milwaukee where he interacted with community and faith leaders.[2] 

    [....]


    snowballing of back-sliding on the woke stuff:



    (definitely worth watching)



    p.s. the NYPost has it out for Jumaane, in that they watch him for his hypocrisy on the woke stuff all the time:


    NYPD's gang takedown strategy works:


    One thing has become clear about Eric Adams, he knows the right kind of photo ops to do:

    Amazing! The Mayor is literally shoveling my driveway! What a guy! pic.twitter.com/YcsFMus7Sh

    — Annie Armstrong (@anniesalright) January 29, 2022

    pic.twitter.com/61FNpSwwrz

    — Annie Armstrong (@anniesalright) January 29, 2022

     


    IMPORTANT: QUIT USING THE HOMICIDE RATE to judge the effectiveness of city government. The people who live in those cities know what is really happening, stats like THIS:

    Homicides are only the tip of the spear of Chicago’s crime wave. More than 4,000 people have been shot—about 70 percent more than two years ago. https://t.co/rQ1XRsAaHI via @joldmcginn

    — City Journal (@CityJournal) January 30, 2022

    You know what has to be factored in as of recent times? Improvement in emergency medicine in saving lives after gunshot wounds. So less dead with more gunshots, but a lot more lifetimes of misery, handicaps, requiring welfare and all other kinds of social costs, etc.

    That I found that retweeted by famous urban planning scholar, Richard Florida, that says a lot in itself. Suffice it to say he's not known for advocating the wild west model of urban livability...


    More Chicago FAILS:

    Cook County's chief judge says no one accused of murder or attempted murder has been released on electronic monitoring since October.

    That's not true.

    Among those released: The man accused of shooting a 2-year-old in the head on Lake Shore Drive.https://t.co/NulZVAkdBa

    — CWBChicago (@CWBChicago) January 31, 2022

    Cops responding to a call of a catalytic converter theft in progress in Roscoe Village said they saw a 10-time felon doing it. Prosecutors refused to file felony charges.https://t.co/NQEelo83cC

    — CWBChicago (@CWBChicago) January 31, 2022

    A suspect is in custody after an "innocent bystander" was shot outside the Jewel-Osco at Clark and Division this afternoon, alderman sayshttps://t.co/Bxpv2ckvxA

    — CWBChicago (@CWBChicago) January 31, 2022


    Ah, yes. The January victory lap. An annual tradition. https://t.co/fLFT1Iy08U

    — CWBChicago (@CWBChicago) January 30, 2022

    ...It's pretty amazing — 30 days into the year, she has reversed the effects of guns from Indiana, gangs, judges putting people on electronic monitoring, low bail, and all of the other things she blames when things are bad.

    Because none of those other things have gone away.

    — CWBChicago (@CWBChicago) January 30, 2022

    ....Two years ago...https://t.co/owmNYPRIvU

    — CWBChicago (@CWBChicago) January 30, 2022


    in an article for Slate, a public defender in partnership with the Garrison Project, an independent, nonpartisan organization addressing the crisis of mass incarceration and policing blasts Eric Adams' plan

    Eric Adams' blueprint isn’t really an anti-violence plan. It's an assault on recent criminal justice reforms. https://t.co/DJp7VRgrXu

    — Slate (@Slate) January 28, 2022

    edit to add: About the Garrison Project from the horse's mouth



    nice laundry list of why DeBlasio had so many haters, as well as dissatisfied constituents in NYC, goes beyond crime:

    Agreed, and it’s his “progressive” allies who continue the divisive, crime-coddling policies that allow this to keep happening. New York needs CHANGE! @NYCMayor, @EvanThiesNYC, @enforcelawsNYC, @ParkSlopePile, @BobHoldenNYC, @JoeBorelliNYC, @InnaVernikov, @SteveCym, @bkdems https://t.co/RkC9H6VSeX

    — barrymosk (@barrymosk) January 31, 2022



    NY State Dems talking the talk of backtracking on recent reforms, siding with Mayor Adams over Gov. Hochul



    Note that the RNC wants to make sure as many people as possible see this story:



    In Wisconsin, Scott Walker's former Lt. Gov., is already running for Gov. against Gov. Tony Evers, who is up for re-election in Nov., by stressing crime in Milwaukee, and already has the endorsement of the Milwaukee Police Association:

     


    Portland business owner's son shoots burglary suspect, calls on city to address crime

    By CONNOR MCCARTHY UPDATED JAN 28, 2022, currently #1 most popular story @ KPTV.com (Oregon local Fox Channel 12) VIDEO at link

    PORTLAND, Ore. (KPTV) - A business owner in northeast Portland is joining a long list of business owners fed up with crime in the city and demanding change.

    Lonnie Thompson owns Carolina Kustoms on Northeast Columbia Boulevard. Shortly after midnight Friday, he said three people tried to break into his shop, but his son stopped them by shooting one in the leg.

    "I got a call from my son that someone was trying to break into the shop," Thompson said. "I got into my truck, headed down this way, and got the call two minutes before that he shot one.”

    Thompson said there were six other instances of people scaling his fence to steal things off his property just this month.

    “It’s a constant issue," Thompson said. "Saturday, we were hit and they cut the fence. A few days before that came over the fence again."

    For five years, Thompson has run his automotive restoration shop at his current location on Northeast Columbia Boulevard. But last three years, he said crime has gotten out of hand.

    "We pay taxes for an alarm permit. I could set the alarm off right now and it’ll take them 30 minutes to get out here," Thompson said.

    Portland Police did arrive on the scene and are investigating the shooting. The suspect who was shot was taken to a hospital to be treated for his injuries. For Thompson, a lifelong Portlander, he said he just wants his city to turn around. He said it starts with holding people in power accountable.

    "If I wasn’t doing a good enough job for my customers, I wouldn’t have a job," Thompson said. "In my opinion, why do we keep these people in office when they don’t want to do a job to help the public.”


    They also have this: Study: Frustration reaching all-time high among Portland voters

    FOX 12 STAFF UPDATED 22 HRS AGO. VIDEO at link.

    A recent study among Portland voters has revealed pessimism and frustration is reaching all-time highs.

    The study was conducted by consulting group DHM Research and released Monday by the Portland Business Alliance. The study to weigh voter approval, or lack thereof, in the City of Portland is conducted on a yearly basis.

    Results released found 88 percent of Portland voters feeling the quality of life is getting worse in the city. This is a significant rise from the 49 percent who reported feeling the same way in 2017.

    Additionally, 81 percent of voters feel the City Council is “ineffective when it comes to providing public services.”

    The poll speaks to the sentiment many Portland business owners feel about the current state of the city. 

    Lyndsay Maderis, the owner of Thairapy PDX in Northwest Portland wrote a letter that she posted on Instagram. 

    That letter is addressed directly to Mayor Ted Wheeler and Portland city commissioners. It details Maderis' struggle to keep her salon open during the pandemic, from a shutdown, to protests and crime. FOX 12 spoke with Maderis on Monday. 

    "I just need tangible things that can help and I don't what that is, if they would listen if they would say we see you and hear you and this is what we're doing -- like call a meeting, let us come to it," Maderis said. "Tell us something, it's just silence." 

    Maderis says her salon was robbed in October, totaling $18,000 in losses. 

    "A Chase banker on Southeast Hawthorne helped me track down one of the people cashing our checks that was stolen. He worked so hard, I worked so hard to get this person we actually got officers there," Maderis said. "And then I try to press charges and I don't even get a response from the DA. So it's just like I feel so helpless." 

    She says she's not alone. 

    "Every business on our block is just repeatedly getting broken into," Maderis said. 

    Maderis says needs safety and cannot be quiet anymore. 

    According to the released report, voters participating in the survey also showed an overwhelming support (90 percent) for officers to begin wearing body cameras, while 83 percent support funding to hire and train new police officers.

    Other numbers:

    • 62 percent of voters feel the city is heading in the wrong direction.

    • 66 percent of voters reported a lack of trust in local officials.

    • 56 percent of voters support a switch to a unified city government.

    • 70 percent of voters in favor of district elections.

    "We have been conduc​ting annual voter sentiment in the region for years, and never have we seen such unequivocal alignment in the priorities that our community is asking elected officials to execute,” said President and CEO of the Portland Business Alliance Andrew Hoan.

    FOX 12 reached out to all of the Portland city commissioners on these issues. Commissioner Carmen Rubio issued this statement: 

    "I too share Portlanders’ frustration that we have yet to see results from our decisions and investments. And when I joined the Council a year ago, Portlanders had told us they wanted us to transform our public safety to be more community-centered and to work on houselessness with compassion and transparency. As a Council, we are doing exactly what we’ve been asked to do, and we’re continuing to make significant investments on all of these issues: in community-based public health violence prevention strategies, in filling vacant officer positions and in body cameras, in transitional housing and shelter sites with wrap-around services, in behavioral and mental health services – and we did it all in partnership with community organizations and our regional government partners. Like all investments, these take time to take root and grow– and I really  want to thank our community for their patience. I know these investments will pay off and will move us toward building an inclusive, safe and affordable Portland we all want." 

    Commissioner Mingus Mapps issued this statement: 

    "This poll confirms what I have heard from community members since I campaigned for office. People are beyond frustrated with the lack of progress on tent camping, public safety, and trash.  We need to reduce the number of tents on the street, address rampant crime, and support our public safety officers. My office is actively pushing for progress on all of these efforts.” 

    Fox 12 reached out to the offices of Mayor Ted Wheeler, Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty and Commissioner Dan Ryan, and have not received responses from any of them

    For an entire breakdown of the report, visit the Portland Business Alliance website


    a couple of replies that struck me:


    THE PENDULUM SWING IS CONFIRMED FOR THE NATIONAL DEMS:

    So national pro-defund progressives need to again sit down and shut up, at least until the mid-terms are over.

    And mayors like Lori Lightfoot will continue lying and spinning data about how their city is on a positive trajectory and their PD is happy as clams...


    to wit on everything being hunky-dory in Chicago


    L.A. not learnin'?

    From the crime news I read, most illegal guns are currently being confiscated exactly this way.


    Not just coastal or big city - Alabama  white policeman murders pregnant white girl plus another brutal murderer had been let off on previous charges.

    https://www.wsfa.com/2022/01/11/mother-speaks-out-after-pregnant-daughte...

    https://www.al.com/news/2022/02/family-found-college-student-beaten-to-d...


    Ran across this on Birmingham, AL. With the warning that I did not check this guy's stats out, thought you might want to


    still debating in NYC because of the Woke campaign principles outlined by Manhattan D.A., Alvin Bragg (note he is only in Manhattan, not the other 4 boroughs. Manhattan is mostly rich  or well-to-do white people plus students, yuppies, Harlem and Dominicans and other Caribbean immigrant types in the north areas of Washington Heights & Inwood)

    Counterpoint: How Much Leniency with Criminals Can We Afford?

    Progressive prosecutors claim that a soft-on-crime approach will make us safer, but the evidence tells a different story.

    Counterpoint: https://t.co/SUmzF6DIlA https://t.co/MDl1FdzoAB

    — Rafael A. Mangual (@Rafa_Mangual) February 2, 2022

    He's altered his Woke rhetoric some in recent weeks with the cop shootings so we get this yesterday

    "Cut Him Some Slack": Hochul Says DA Bragg Deserves A Chance

    @ Gothamist

    Gov. Hochul says she cut Manhattan DA Bragg ‘some slack’ on soft crime stance

    @ NYPost

    I don't think it crazy to suspect White House influence involved too.

    There is still a clear anti-Bragg movement; here for example is (supposedly) an upset Manhattan mom

    Today on my 6 year old's walk to school and back home, he witnessed 1 drug sale, 3 people shooting up, and more than 20 uncapped needles along his path. We use to dodge dog poo on the sidewalk, but now we dodge needles! @NYHarmReduction @DianaAyalaNYC @Kristin4Harlem @NYCMayor pic.twitter.com/ZvFDHzqGnM

    — Sarah Noda (@SarahNoda) February 3, 2022

    that may be exaggerated, she may not even be a Manhattan mom, but note who she copies the tweet to!

     


    Daily Beast editor and columnist at NY Daily News pointing out L.A. Council member selling lefty misinformation and a delusional narrative:

     

     


    needs no commentary:

    except that: the national Democratic party is not vehemently disassociating themselves from these types, no Sister Soulja moments. At the same time they complain that the GOP is too chicken to piss off Trumpies who believe the Big Lie.

    To an Independent like me, that's the same thing! And many more people are dying and suffering from the crime amd the increased gun ownership after the 2020 riots than from Jan. 6. Both are about rule of law. But one is doing far more actual physical damage to lives


    blast from the past, when ramping up funding was the thing to do

    and hello: IT EVENTUALLY WORKED, I was there, saw it all



    another test case coming up!


    He finally Sister Soulja'd BLM in the SOTU speech:


    BLM noticed and is fighting back:

    No, @joebiden, we don’t “all agree.”
    We still say #DefundThePolice and hold killer cops accountable.
    THURSDAY, 3/3 AT NOON IN FRONT OF THE US DOJ
    We’ll be standing in the name of #AndrewJosephIII to #EndQualifiedImmunity and demand justice for our people. #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/W0BlgOIDGX

    — Black Lives Matter (@Blklivesmatter) March 2, 2022

    Isnot going to be of help in the midterm elections; clearly they are no longer on the Democratic team if they ever were.


    NATO is basically an international policing agreement. I bet anything that, like the Democratic Socialists of America, they are against it; anarchists who believe in isolationist Wakanda. What's going on in Ukraine right now must mess with their heads, the invaded underdog begging for NATO to enforce a flyover zone...


    "Defund the Police" is now trending on Twitter; I imagine people have started to notice that this was in the SOTU speech now that they've had time to digest the Ukraine stuff.




    reporter in Minneapolis, personal opinion on report about car theft and chase, bet he votes in all elections


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