Lawlessness is taking over the streets of America with the city of Seattle, Washington, in the bull’s eye over the weekend.
Police departments have been sorely depleted in the wake of the “defund the police” debacle which was fueled by the demands of BLM and antifa protesters in 2020.
Just how bad is the crisis? The nation’s cities saw more than 900 shootings last week.
Seattle, Washington is just one of the cities caught in the surge of violence. Over a devastating three hours on Sunday, three people died and five were injured in a series of shootings.
So far this year, the Emerald City has seen more than 200 residents killed or injured in gun violence.
Seattle’s mayor this week cited a depleted police force and called out the city council’s plans to make drastic cuts in the police budget.
Mayor Jenny Durkan said, “Over the past 17 months the Seattle Police Department has lost 250 police officers, which is the equivalent of over 300,000 service hours.”
“Not unexpected – losing these numbers of officers. When city leaders talk about cutting the department by 50%, you will lose employees,” she said.
Among those 250 officers who left the force in the past year? The chief of police.
Durkan said the city needs more officers, not fewer. “This past weekend serves as a reminder: there are many times and types of 911 calls that require a traditional sworn police officer to respond,” Durkan said.
Earlier this month, Portland, Oregon Mayor Ted Wheeler admitted his city is also suffering from a “pandemic” of violence.
Gun violence and associated homicide rates in Portland have soared in the past six months. Last year city leaders slashed $27 million from the police budget, and Portland has lost 125 sworn officers. It faces new rounds of retiring officers in coming months.
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