Category Archives: safety

Progressive policies in action: Seattle Police won’t respond to alarm calls without “supporting evidence”

Posted on September 30, 2024 by | 3 comments

Thanks to the liberals’ “Defund the Police” movement in 2020 and BLM’s campaign to disparage police, the Seattle Police Department has lost more than 700 officers in the past five years and is at its lowest staffing level since the 1990s.

The consequences of this? From Fox 13 Seattle:

Seattle Police: Officers won’t respond to burglary alarm calls without evidence

From the article:

“A triggered alarm system at a property in Seattle will soon require more information to get an officer’s attention. Seattle Police Department (SPD) announced a new policy for responding to alarm calls.

SPD’s interim police chief, Sue Rahr, announced the updated standards in a letter dated Sept. 13. She wrote that, beginning Oct. 1, “SPD will only dispatch officers to calls from alarm companies with supporting evidence, such as audio, video, panic alarms or eyewitness evidence that a person is illegally entering or attempting to enter a residence or commercial property.”

“The challenge with that is it’s only two weeks’ notice. We have to notify all of our customers, we have to change how we monitor those alarms, we have to change dispatchers on how they respond to alarms in Seattle,” said Woodman. “We’ve been told that [SPD] has been working on this for eight months, but they never reached out to the industry or the monitoring companies. So, we are asking that they now work with us and just give us some more time.” 

Woodman and others from Washington Alarm gave public comment on Tuesday during Seattle City Council’s Public Safety Committee meeting and full council meeting. They voiced their concerns, not only about the short notice from SPD, but also the impact on customers who don’t have audio or visual capabilities on their systems.

“Law enforcement and the security industry can work together to come up with a solution that benefits our customers in a way that doesn’t leave them stranded and vulnerable at the most dangerous moment,” said Ashley Barber of Washington Alarm.

“Our fear is that the business owner or building owner is going to go down to that building and see what is going on. And with no police there, we could potentially be in a dire situation if there’s actual criminal activity going on at the property and they don’t have police to back them up,” said Woodman. “Other cities that have done this [have seen] the crime has gone up. And we certainly already have an issue in the city of Seattle with crime, and we would not want to see crime go up.”

Read the whole article here.

Yeah, don’t hold your breath waiting for the police in Seattle to back you up. That isn’t how most of us roll:

Alas, in demorat-run Seattle your options are limited. They never learn, do they?

DCG

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Posted in Crime, Democrats, failed city, safety

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Trump assassination attempt: a failure of law enforcement & the Secret Service

Posted on July 16, 2024 by | 11 comments

A defiant Trump after the assassin’s bullet grazed and bloodied his right ear. Raising his fist in the air, he cried out, “Fight, fight, fight!”.

What evidence we have point to a massive failure and complacency of law enforcement and the Secret Service in protecting President Donald Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024, and preventing the death of a former fire chief and the injury of two other rally attendants. That’s a charitable characterization. A less charitable explanation is that the assassinaton attempt had been engineered by the Deep State.

Below are the multiple failures and sheer incompetence of supposed professionals:

1. U.S. officials, i.e., the Biden Administration, were warned of a potential Iranian assassination plot against Trump weeks before deadly shooting. (NY Post)

2. 30 minutes before the first shot was fired, cops at the scene noticed the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, clambering into place in plain sight just 130 yards away from the rally stage and even took two photos of him because he was acting suspiciously, sources told WPXI. Meanwhile, almost comically, a counter-sniper team was inside the building on which roof was the assassin. The sniper team was using the building as a “watch post” during the event when Crooks pulled the trigger. (Source: Daily Mail)

3. Attendants at the rally alerted law enforcement to the gunman on the roof of the building at least two minutes before the first shot was fired at Trump, video analyzed by CBS News shows. One witness exclaimed as a law enforcement officer walked around the building, “Look, they’re all pointing. Someone’s on top of the roof. There he is, right there. Right there, see him? He’s laying down.” Another witness gestured to the officer, referring to the gunman: “He’s on the roof … right here, right on the roof.”

4. Passing the buck: A Secret Service source told Scripps News that the agency did not sweep the rooftop from which Crooks shot at former President Donald Trump Saturday, saying it was up to local law enforcement to secure that building as it was outside of the perimeter that the agency would secure. However, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania State Police said the department had provided “all resources” requested by the Secret Service, including 30 to 40 troopers who helped secure the inside perimeter, but that it “was not responsible for securing” the building or the property on which it resides.

Patrick Yoes, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, America’s largest police group, blasted the Secret Service for trying to shift blame to local police: “Whatever happened in Butler, this was not a failure of the local, state, or federal officers on the ground who responded to the shots fired at former President Trump, they acted heroically and put their lives on the line to protect everyone else at the event. We must recognize that. This is a failure at the management or command level who failed to secure an obvious weakness in the security of this event.” Yoes warned that Secret Service efforts to push blame down to local police for failing to secure a building rooftop used by the shooter would be counterproductive, especially with so many campaign events ahead in the election that will require local, state and federal officials to cooperate.

Lastly, here’s another oddity:

BlackRock Inc. — the world’s largest money manager and ultra-woke investment firm that is benefiting from Biden’s US taxpayers’ multibillion-dollar funding of Ukraine with big government deals to “rebuild” Ukraine — has pulled an ad that briefly featured Thomas Crooks, the 20-year-old assassin. Black Rock said Crooks was a student at Bethel Park High School and appeared in the 2022 ad with other unpaid teens. “In 2022, we ran an ad featuring a teacher from Bethel Park High School, in which several unpaid students briefly appeared in the background, including Thomas Matthew Crooks,” the company said in a statement to Reuters. The 30-second BlackRock TV ad features an AP and honors economics class that Crooks attended at the time. (Source: NY Post)

What a coinkidink!

Not.

~E

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Posted in Crime, Joe Biden, President Donald Trump, safety

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Illegal alien indicted on rape released on $500 bail

Posted on July 1, 2024 by | 5 comments

This is America under demorat rule…

(story starts at :20 mark)

Story from MSN:

Cory Alvarez, an illegal from Haiti, is accused (and now indicted) of raping a disabled 15-year-old at a Massachusetts shelter. He’s been released on bail — despite a request from federal immigration officials to keep him in jail.

The perp was arrested in March and held without bail until he was freed on a $500 bail last week after the Plymouth County Superior Court ignored a request from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to keep the suspect in custody.

The Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office requested that Alvarez be held on $10,000 cash bail with numerous conditions of release. The judge set bail at $500.

The good judge released the perp with an ankle monitor, but ICE officials can’t track him because Boston is a sanctuary city — meaning local authorities don’t have to cooperate with the feds.

The suspect was also ordered to remain in home confinement, surrender his passport and check in twice monthly with probation, according to legal filings obtained by the Globe. He is due back in court on Aug. 13.

Federal immigration authorities said in March that they had filed an immigration detainer against Alvarez with the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office. However, a spokesperson for the enforcement and removal operations division of ICE told the Globe that Plymouth Superior Court officials “refused to honor” its detainer.

The perp came to the US in June 2023 under President Biden’s parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans (CHNV).

Read all the details here.

The illegal alien is being housed at this Comfort Inn in Rockland which was turned into an immigrant shelter, courtesy of taxpayers:

Think the perp will give up this great living condition and show up for his August 13 court date?

Maybe he will. Illegal aliens/criminals seem to have better odds under our current legal system than law-abiding citizens.

DCG

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Posted in Crime, Democrats, failed city, illegal immigration, Joe Biden, safety

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Identity politics doesn’t guarantee a “better representative of everybody”

Posted on June 20, 2024 by | 5 comments

The left are big into identity politics. For some reason, they’ll tell you that the color of their skin and sexual orientation makes them better able to govern. Case in point: Crystal Hudson, who represents the 35th District of the New York City Council.

When Crystal ran she outlined her “Black Agenda” for her district. She mentioned numerous times on her web page that she is “unapologetically pro-Black, pro-queer, pro-justice.”

Her page also states that she was elected in 2021 and made history as the first out gay Black woman ever elected in New York City. How did that turn out for the residents who voted for her? They aren’t too happy:

Furious residents erupt at NYC town hall meeting over crime outside gargantuan migrant shelter that houses 3,000 men

From The Daily Mail:

“A community meeting in Brooklyn devolved into a shouting match when concerned residents from several family-friendly neighborhoods expressed their extreme dissatisfaction with their councilmember over a huge migrant shelter in the area.

City councilmember Crystal Hudson was met with ire from her constituents as she attempted to speak at the community meeting on Monday night.

Residents in the family-oriented neighborhood of Clinton Hill remain uneasy about the migrant shelter that opened last summer right next to the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

The shelter currently accommodates more than 3,000 single men who  crossed the southern border illegally before being transported to New York City. Residents fear the massive shelter puts their children and the area in danger.

Hudson did not help her case when she stood up in the middle of the meeting to announce a stabbing had occurred earlier in the day right by the shelter. ‘There was an incident earlier today – it’s not the first incident, I hope it will be the last – there was a stabbing that was at the park,’ said Hudson.

But Hudson’s comments nonetheless further ignited intense frustration among the crowd at the Boys and Girls Navy Yard Clubhouse.

The news prompted several already angered constituents to stand up and begin shouting. ‘You are avoiding the issue,’ said one man into a microphone, speaking about the shelter. ‘Is there a universe where the city can safely house 3,200 single men together?’

‘It can’t!’ shouted some people in the crowd in response. ‘It is unsafe! It is unsafe!’ cried others.

During the meeting, Hudson – who had City Speaker Adrienne Adams and Comptroller Brad Lander by her side – encouraged angry attendees to save their wrath for City Hall.

She went on to blame the mayor for a lack of support in dealing with the migrant crisis. ‘We have literally said exactly what you just said … I understand the frustration. I get it … But my office has done everything we can,’ she said, according to local reporter Arya Sundaram.

Alejandro Gonzalez, a spokesperson for Councilwoman Hudson, said in a statement to the New York Post that her office confirmed its commitment to ‘caring for’ undocumented migrants.”

Read the whole story here.

When, oh when, are voters going to learn:

DCG

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Posted in clueless, Democrats, failed city, illegal immigration, safety, The Left

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Get out of California: Newsom’s budget will defund fighting crime

Posted on June 7, 2024 by | 7 comments

We all know about the crime in California. Get ready for things to get worse as it’s no doubt going to happen. From the Daily Mail:

California’s Dem. Gov Gavin Newsom unveils new plans to defund the police in crime-ridden state after massive budget deficit

In 2022 Newsom bragged of having a $97.5 billion surplus. Fast forward two years later and the state now faces a $45 billion deficit. Great job, democrats.

From the article:

“California governor Gavin Newsom‘s proposed new budget would slash funding for the police as the state struggles with a massive deficit of at least $45 billion.

Last month the Democrat unveiled his budget for the next fiscal year, admitting that ‘difficult decisions’ are needed to address the state’s deficit – including a 1.6 percent reduction in the state’s Department of Justice’s overall funding.

The proposed budget includes a $97 million cut to trial court operations, $10 million to the Department of Justice’s Division of Law Enforcement and over $80 million to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, as reported by Fox News. 

Newsom’s plan comes as major national stores and local businesses in California say they continue to face rampant theft. Videos of large-scale thefts, in which groups of individuals brazenly rush into stores and take goods in plain sight, have often gone viral.

Crime data shows the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles saw a steady increase in shoplifting between 2021 and 2022. Across the state, shoplifting rates rose during the same time period but were still lower than the pre-pandemic levels in 2019, while commercial burglaries and robberies have become more prevalent in urban counties.

Meanwhile homelessness jumped 6 percent to more than 180,000 people in California last year, federal data show. And since 2013, the numbers have exploded by 53 percent with the state accounting for a third of America’s entire homeless population.

The state’s criminal justice record which saw the number of violent crimes jump by 27 percent between 2013 and 2022, and pickpocketing more than double. “

Read the whole story here.

Voters in California about to learn the hard way:

DCG

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Posted in Crime, Democrats, drugs, failed state, Finances, safety, The Left

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Hey criminals: Head to Boston for fun!

Posted on May 30, 2024 by | 8 comments

Mayor Michelle Wu, welcoming to criminals.

Do your hobbies include shoplifting, larceny, disorderly conduct, receiving stolen property, driving with a suspended license, and breaking and entering? Then head to Boston, my friend, as Mayor Michelle Wu has declared that those activities should not be prosecuted!

From NY Post:

“Boston Mayor Michelle Wu advocated a soft-on-crime agenda by pushing to abolish the gang registry and arguing that criminal behavior – such as theft – should not be prosecuted. 

Prior to being elected mayor, Wu filled out the “2021 Boston Mayoral Candidate Questionnaire” from Progressive Massachusetts, a 501c4 nonprofit organization that tracks and ranks how progressive elected officials are.

According to its website, the group “intends to transform Massachusetts into a bold laboratory for progressive state initiatives.”

In the document, Wu outlined her most progressive commitments, including her support for noncitizens voting in Boston’s local elections. 

The mayor was asked, “Do you support shuttering the Boston Police gang database?”

She answered, “Yes.”

Then, Wu was asked whether she supported a do-not-prosecute list enacted by the former Suffolk County district attorney, Rachael Rollins.  DA Rollins enacted the policy memo identifying more than a dozen charges she said should be declined for prosecution.

Those crimes included shoplifting, larceny, disorderly conduct, receiving stolen property, driving with a suspended license, breaking and entering with property damage, wanton and malicious destruction of property, threats, minor in possession of alcohol, marijuana possession, possession with intent to distribute, non-marijuana drug possession. 

The DA was later brought into the Biden administration, before resigning after an ethics probe found that Rollins committed “egregious” ethical violations and “abuse of power.”  

“Do you support the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office’s do-not-prosecute list and expanded approach to dealing with such low-level offenses? YES/ NO?” Progressive Mass asked.  “Yes,” Wu responded. 

Wu also promised to advocate for reallocating some of the police’s budget towards other city priorities as mayor. The mayor said she believes law enforcement should be “demilitariz[ed].” 

Wu said police should not have the ability to use tear gas, rubber bullets, and attack dogs.“

Read the whole story here.

Boston, y’all about to find out the hard way:

DCG

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Posted in Crime, Democrats, drugs, failed city, safety, The Left

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Denver democrats prioritize illegal aliens over citizens’ safety

Posted on April 18, 2024 by | 2 comments

There’s a valid reason why many say “liberalism is a mental disorder.”

For over fifty years Denver residents have elected a democrat mayor. In 2023 the residents continued that tradition by electing Mike Johnston.

Mayor Mike Johnston: Y’all got suckered!

One of Johnston’s stated goals when he was running for mayor? He planned to spend $20 million to hire an additional 200 first responders to address violent and property crime.

Fast forward less than a year after he assumed office and this is the reality (via Daily Mail):

Denver city council approves defund the police cuts – the largest ever in city’s budget – to pay for migrant crisis

Details:

“Denver City Council’s Finance and Governance Committee has approved plans to defund the police to pay for the migrant crisis that is costing the democrat-led city about $89.9 million. 

The finance committee determined that $41 million in cuts from multiple city departments is needed to house migrants on Tuesday, reported KDVR. 

The police department is expected to experience $8.4 million budget cuts, the sheriff’s office could see a $3.8 million cut and the fire department is expected to cut $2.4 million. 

The sanctuary city’s progressive Mayor Mike Johnston unveiled the budget proposal last week, allocating $89.9 million to assist incoming undocumented migrants, whom he refers to as ‘newcomers.’

The amount will be drawn from approximately $45 million that’s used for public programs and services, the rest is coming from city wide budget cuts.

‘After more than a year of facing this crisis together, Denver finally has a sustainable plan for treating our newcomers with dignity while avoiding the worst cuts to city services,’ Johnston said at the press conference discussing ‘Newcomer Operations and 2024 Budget.’

‘So many times we were told that we couldn’t be compassionate while still being fiscally responsible. Today is proof that our hardest challenges are still solvable, and that together we are the ones who will solve them.’

The proposed budget cuts will now go to the full city council for a vote on April 22, and if passed could go into effect by May 10.

Denver plans to spend the $89.9 million on various migrant assistance programs in 2024, including $3 million to ‘Program Administration,’ $51.7 million to ‘Shelter and Housing,’ $9.7 million to ‘Supportive Services,’ $9.5 million to ‘One Time Capital Costs’ and $10 million to ‘Contingency.’

‘Kinda crazy how much of an insult this is to Colorado’s residents. You’ve got money for migrants but meanwhile homeless people have ruined downtown and every piece of infrastructure needs attention,’ said Spencer Davis on Facebook.

‘What about our local homeless, veterans that really need help,’ said Michele Santi.

‘Put that 89 million into the schools instead,’ said Quin Williams. “

Read the whole story here.

Y’all gotta learn the hard way:

DCG

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Posted in Crime, Democrats, failed city, illegal immigration, safety, The Left

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Another one bites the dust: The North-Face closing hometown San Francisco store

Posted on March 8, 2024 by | 5 comments

San Francisco is failing. Due to progressive policies (soft-on-crime DAs, open-air drug use, Defund the Police movement, Prop 47, etc.) many businesses have shutdown their stores in San Francisco.

Now goes another:

The North Face is closing its only store in its hometown of San Francisco that’s situated in dying downtown area

From Daily Mail:

“San Francisco shoppers receive another shocking blow as another major retailer is all set to move away from the crime and drug ridden city. 

The North Face officials have announced that they will be closing the doors of their Union Square store on March 31.  Although the rock climbing and camping supply company was founded back in 1964 in this city, the Union Square store is the only location to exist. 

Hailey Albright, a spokesperson for the company said in a statement: ‘The North Face was born in San Francisco, and we have cherished the time spent here, building roots and creating lasting memories.’

The retailer has not provided a clear reason for the closure of the 180 Post Street store.”

Read the whole story here.

No “clear reason” is required on behalf of The North Face.

Earlier this week voters in San Francisco passed two ballot measures to take steps to curb homelessness, drug addiction and crime. The initiatives require drug screening for welfare recipients and give police more surveillance power and less oversight

But it may be too little, too late. After 60 years of democrat rule, it will probably take DECADES to undue the damage progressive polices have created for that city. Y’all learn too late:

DCG

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Posted in Crime, Democrats, drugs, failed city, failed state, safety

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Amazing: First responders rescue truck driver stuck over a bridge

Posted on March 1, 2024 by | 3 comments

This is so nerve wracking!

A truck almost went off the Second Street Bridge in Louiseville this morning. Takes about six minutes to pull the truck driver in safely. Fast forward to 5:00 mark if you want to skip ahead.

You can read full details on the story here.

God Bless the firemen who have nerves of steel to make this rescue!

DCG

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Posted in safety, service

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Crime in Houston: Over 260,000 criminal cases suspended due to lack of personnel

Posted on February 28, 2024 by | 6 comments

Although Texas is still a “red” state, the city of Houston is run by demorats. Houston hasn’t had a republican mayor since 1982. The district attorney for Harris County, Kim Ogg, is a demorat who was backed by George Soros.

Soros-backed DA Kim Hogg

Houston’s current demorat mayor, John Whitmire, came into office last December. When he ran for office he stated, “I know how crime impacts our lives. I have instituted groundbreaking reforms reducing prison populations because we can be tough and smart on crime.”

Lifelong bureaucrat Mayor John Whitmire

Considering what’s been occuring (or not occuring) in Houston during the past eight years, Mayor Whitmire is going to have a lot of cleaning up to do:

HPD says over 260,000 criminal cases were suspended due to ‘lack of personnel’ over 8 years

From Fox 26:

“Houston Police Chief Troy Finner has released some new information regarding criminal cases that were suspended. 

Last week, Finner identified 4,017 cases of alleged sexual assault administratively suspended for “lack of personnel” – investigations essentially kicked to the curb back to 2016.

On Monday afternoon, Houston police released a new statement saying:

“Our review of adult sex crime cases suspended with a code of “lack of personnel” has expanded to include all other divisions in the department found to be using that same code. We have determined that department-wide approximately 264,000 such incident reports since 2016 were suspended with this code. That figure represents about 10% of the 2.8 million incident reports filed with HPD in the past eight years. Of those 264,000 reports, about 100,000 of them are property crimes. Our efforts to review sexual assault incident reports and contact potential victims continue. We are also moving additional personnel to other investigative divisions to address these incident reports involving crimes against persons.”

Last week, Finner said he first became aware sexual assault cases were being suspended for lack of manpower in 2021 and ordered the practice stopped. He says an internal investigation is underway to determine why that explicit command was disobeyed.”

Read the whole story here.

Best to avoid large, demorat-run cities. Between their soft-on-crime district attorneys, progressive policies toward incarceration, and overall lack of functional leadership (especially when is comes to addressing public safety needs), no one is safe in these cities.

DCG

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