If I was a law enforcement officer in New York, Los Angeles or (especially) Minneapolis, I’d be watching the efforts to dismantle the police department with something between bemusement and indignation.
I’d be thinking, “I’ve been out on the streets every day for years now. I’ve seen everything there is to see when it comes to crime. I’ve seen murders, rapes and violent robberies. I’ve seen car jackings, domestic disturbances, people strung out on meth. I’ve seen gang violence, drug dealers and prostitutes. I’ve seen juveniles assault old women or steal a purse or shoplift merchandise from any number of stores. I’ve seen drunk drivers, stolen cars and fatal accidents. I’ve seen men pissing in the street, sleeping on the sidewalk and harrassing pedestrians for loose change.
“And now you arrogant woke Marxist punks think you’ve come up with some kind of cultural elixir that will eliminate or significantly reduce the need for a local police force. Good luck with that.”
And then I’d walk off the job and figure out another way to make a living. If putting my life on the line every day only to have a council of woke scolds tell me that my services have a shelf life, good riddance. I hope the entire department walks off the job and takes whatever part of their retirement plan has vested. Go work in a police department somewhere in red America that appreciates what you do.
I know that for many officers, telling the police chief and the mayor and the city council to sod off is unrealistic. But the truth is that once the civil authorities have determined you’re no longer needed and have publicly declared it so, they’ve put you and the law abiding public in danger.
Why should the bad guys listen to the cops? They’re on their way out. Lame ducks! Why should the cops chase the bad guys? Hey, I’ve been told I’m the problem, so why should I exert myself? I’m out of here in a year anyway. In fact, why shouldn’t the bad guys chase the good guys? Here’s what Minneapolis may look like in a few years:
Only a few officers in London carry weapons. See how effective that is? Neither they nor we enjoy a culture that respects authority and it shows.
It won’t happen that way here for a while. First the police need to be defunded. Once you’ve reduced the number of officers, you reduce the types of crimes they police since there aren’t enough officers to go around. No more going after the drug dealers. No more calls about petty larceny. No more traffic stops. Gangs of marauding youths will operate with impunity.
Eventually, you can dismantle the police force altogether because, as MPD150 tells us, “Most of the time, [crime] happens when someone has been unable to meet their basic needs through other means. By shifting money away from the police and toward services that actually meet those needs, we’ll be able to get to a place where people won’t need to rob banks.”
Cue “Imagine” by John Lennon and let’s all sing together!
Cops have been told they’re the problem and it’s just a matter of time before they’re all out of a job. If it was me, I’d seriously consider whether it was worth my pension or my life to stick around and take the abuse.