Category Archives: safety

Denver democrats prioritize illegal aliens over citizens’ safety

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

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

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

Amazing: First responders rescue truck driver stuck over a bridge

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

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

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

Crime in Missouri: St. Louis frees hit & run driver who killed mom and daughter

St. Louis, Missouri has had a democrat mayor since 1949.  The previous Soros-backed district attorney, Kim Gardner, finally resigned in May 2023 after a serial criminal who had violated house arrest 51 times caused a teenage girl to lose both of her legs. Read that whole story here.

Yet since Gardner’s departure, criminals are still able to roam free in St. Louis. Example:

St Louis driver, 22, who killed two Drake fans in horror crash as they left concert is FREED on $20k bail

Victims Laticha Bracero and her daughter Alyssa Cordova

From The Daily Mail:

Horrific surveillance footage captured the moment a mom and daughter were fatally ran down by a speeding motorist running a red light – who has since been released on bail.

Laticha Bracero, 42, and her daughter Alyssa Cordova, 21, were leaving a Drake concert in St. Louis, Missouri on February 14 when driver Monte Henderson, 22, allegedly plowed into them at the intersection. Two other teen girls and a 61-year-old woman were also injured in the crash, which saw Henderson collide with several other vehicles as he blew through the lights. 

Free on bail: Perp Monte Henderson

Police say he was speeding at over 70mph when he allegedly caused the tragedy.

However, Judge Annette Llewellyn ignored a probable cause statement arguing he is a danger to the community, allowing him to be freed on a $20,000 bail, according to STL Today

Judge Annette Lewellyn

Reported court records showed he was freed on Friday morning after posting 10 percent of his $200,000 bondHe is facing two counts of involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action in the deaths of the mother and daughter

Cops say he blew through the stop lights on Olive Street in the center of the city, with the footage showing the red light at the same time he sped past the intersection in his Jeep Grand Cherokee. He was seen travelling at a high rate of speed before initially colliding with the front bumper of another car, which led him to careen into Bracero and Cordova. 

Bracero was pronounced dead at the scene, and Cordova died shortly after being rushed to hospital, police said.” 

Read the whole tragic story here.

Just another reason to avoid large, democrat-run cities that favor defunding their police. And cities with Soros-backed district attorneys who coddle criminals. Your life may depend upon it.

DCG

Crime in Washington State: Store owner fends off robber with machete

How’s things going in democrat-run Washington State? Here’s a sample:

Fortunately a Tacoma store owner was able to defend himself against a robber who brought a knife to a fight. The store owner whipped out a machete!

Store Owner (on left) defends himself with a machete. Photo courtesy of Tacoma Poolice Facebook.

From MyNorthwest:

“A 70-year-old store owner fended off a knife-wielding robber by brandishing his own store’s defense system — a really big machete.

Naif Qatamin, the store owner, and his wife run Selena One Market in Tacoma. The business has been robbed before, with Qatamin using a stick for protection. A year ago, he upgraded to a machete, slotted right next to the register.

On Feb. 5, the store’s upgraded defense came in handy when a pocketknife-wielding robber walked to the register and announced, “This is a robbery. Do you understand?” Qaatamin understood, and from behind the counter, pulled his machete while saying, “That’s not a knife, this is a knife.”

“He backed up there,” Qatamin told KIRO Newsradio. “He was shocked and fell down right there.”

The suspected robber ran from the store, but was later caught by police. The next day, he was released from jail and returned to the store.

“He stood right there by the door and said ‘I’m going to come back, rob you and kill you.’ I said ‘One step inside and I’m going to fix you up.’ He put his foot down right there and I hit him right here,” Qatamin said, pointing to his chest.”

Read the whole story here.

Thanks to democrats’ soft-on-crime prosecutors, Defund the Police movement, and disdain of all guns, store owners are desperate to protect themselves.

Wise to stay away from the crime-infested blue cities these days. Your life may depend upon it.

DCG

Take a bow, Mayor Bowser: Crime soars in Washington DC

Under democrat rule, crime in Washington DC soared in 2023. Some startling statistics (from MSN):

“The District of Columbia saw a 35 percent increase in homicides, 67 percent increase in robberies, and an 82 percent increase in motor-vehicle theft in 2023. Total violent crime increased by 39 percent, and property crime increased by 24 percent.”

Last October Mayor Muriel Bowser proposed new legislation to address public safety yet residents (and community activists) weren’t pleased with the bill. Due to the ineffectiveness of demorat leadership, the residents are going to suffer many consquences. Here’s one of them, via Daily Mail:

CVS store in D.C. forced to close after being targeted by FORTY-FIVE teenage thieves every day – leaving shelves totally empty

“A Washington D.C. CVS store is shutting its doors after being repeatedly ransacked by thieves, the chain has confirmed. The pharmacy, located in the Columbia Heights neighborhood, went viral last October when videos emerged of it totally stripped of all its products after being targeted by a teen gang.

Staff claim more than 45 schoolkids would go into the store and steal chips and drinks in the morning, after their classes and late at night. It will close on February 29, according to WTTG-TV.

It comes as major retailers are increasingly forced to lock up products such as underwear and socks to clamp down on rampant theft.   D.C. in particular has been hit with a wave of crime among the state’s teenagers.

Reports of retail theft have ballooned in recent years, with experts blaming organized crime gangs for the surge. Data from the Council on Criminal Justice shows there were 8,453 more shoplifting incidents across 24 cities in the first half of the year compared to 2019.”

Read the whole story here.

You know, if residents aren’t happy with new legislation to address public safety, they get what they deserve.

More proof that liberalism is a mental disorder.

DCG

Get out of Los Angeles: Man’s conceal carry permit pulled after defending his home

If you can, get out of blue cities that have been controlled by democrats for decades.

Los Angeles is one such democrat-run city that is failing its citizens. Along with other blue cities, Los Angeles is facing homelessness, increased crime and open-air drug use.

On the other hand, Los Angeles is not failing is their criminals.

Vince Ricci defended his home and family on November 4th when two armed thugs tried to take him down. Fortunately Ricci was carrying and able to scare off the intruders.

Fast forward a couple weeks and the Los Angeles Police Department is revoking Ricci’s conceal carry permit. Why? From The Daily Mail:

“Ricci told Fox News the sheriff’s office called him on Thursday telling him it was due to him ‘yelling’ at officers. He had previously blasted the LAPD for ‘sloppy police work’, including their alleged negligence in picking up casings scattered near his home as evidence.”

Watch Ricci speak of the event:

You can read more details about his story here.

Democrats have proven they don’t care about the rights of law-abiding citizens. The criminals now run the systems prevelant throughout blue cities. Get out of one if you can. It may save your life.

DCG

Dangerous democrat-run cities: College student killed by career criminal

For over 60 years, Nashville has been run by a democrat mayor. And we all know how well democrat-run cities are doing these days: increased crime, decreased policing, open-air drug use, and exploding homeless populations. Blue cities are not safe for their citizens.

Here’s a recent example from Nashville:

College student dies after being struck in the head by stray bullet allegedly fired by career criminal

Innocent victim Jillian Ludwig

Jillian Ludwig, 18, was shot by career-criminal Shaquille Taylor, 29, as she walked on a track at a park. Here’s more details from the NY Post:

“A college student from New Jersey died overnight Thursday, two days after being struck in the head by a bullet allegedly fired by a career criminal as she walked near her campus in Nashville — and lay for an hour before a passerby found her.

Jillian Ludwig, 18, a freshman at Belmont University, had been initially listed in critical condition after being shot about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday while walking at Edgehill Community Memorial Gardens Park.

Following Ludwig’s death, authorities are discussing updated charges against suspected shooter Shaquille Taylor, 29, who was already arrested and charged with aggravated assault and evidence tampering.”

Read the whole story here.

Career criminal Shauille Taylor

Here’s some background on the perp, Shaquille Taylor:

Taylor served 11 months and 29 days for a 2016 assault charge and was found guilty for contributing to the delinquency of a minor in 2018, which resulted in him serving a year and two months on probation.

In 2021, he was charged with three counts of assault with a deadly weapon after he and another man were accused of shooting at a female driver while her two kids were in the back seat. He was released from custody earlier this year after being deemed incompetent to stand trial. Federal and state laws prohibit the prosecution of mentally incompetent people.

According to Daily Wire, Taylor was charged with felony auto theft after he was seen driving a car that had been carjacked by two men in ski masks just days earlier, according to police. He was released on $20,000 bond and failed to appear in court.

A court order earlier this year explained that Taylor had developed pneumonia at birth, which led to a brain infection, and that he continues to function at a kindergarten level.

Taylor also did not meet the criteria for involuntary commitment, so the court had “reached the limit of its authority,” Criminal Court Judge Angelita Blackshear Dalton wrote.

Judge Andelita Blackshear Dalton

My question is, why was this perp out of jail in less than two years after being charged with a voilent gun crime?

Answer: Because judges and activists, in their desire for criminal justice reform, have put law-abiding citizens in danger. Mentally-ill career criminals face absolutely no consequences for their violent actions while innocent victims pay with their lives.

Blue-run cities are no longer safe in America today. If you live in one, be vigilant and safe. It may one day save your life.

DCG

Defund the Police activist meets reality

Oakland, California is a democrate-run city that is failing. From The Daily Mail:

“Police data shows the city now has the second worst 911 response time in California, while the number of homicides has jumped by 79 per cent from 2018 to 2022. In the year to date, violent crime is 22 per cent higher than last year, motor vehicle theft is 51 per cent higher and robbery is 36 per cent higher.”

Seneca Scott ran for mayor of Oakland last year and lost. He had called for ‘shifting budgets away from the police’ and a ‘complete overhaul of how we want our communities to interact with law enforcement.’

2022 Oakland Mayorial candidate Seneca Scott

After a recent incident, he’s had a change of heart. From The Daily Mail:

Black activist ditches his progressive beliefs after being arrested for defending himself against homeless knifeman in his Oakland garden

Details of the incident:

“At around 10pm on October 30 2021, Scott discovered two men were trying to steal the water heater from his garden. He went down to confront them, taking his gun for protection, and found they had set up a tent and laid out drugs on his picnic table. 

He told them to put down the water heater and one of them pulled a knife. Scott showed them his pistol and again told them to put down the water heater. 

At this point one of the men fled, but the other flagged down a police car and told them Scott had pulled a gun on him. Police arrested Scott on charges of brandishing a weapon and carrying a concealed firearm.

The charges have all since been dropped.

Seneca says now he is vehemently anti what he terms the ‘woke left’ and ‘phony “progressives”‘ who he says are ‘dismissive towards black and brown people’. (I would argue that they are dismissive towards law and order.)

Scott told The Free Press that he changed his views when he realized ‘how deep the damage was’ and how ‘the people we had put in place were just complete frauds’.

Read the whole article here.

Better late than never to realize what disasterous democrat policies are doing to his city.  Now we just need about another 250,000 Oakland residents to wake up and change their voting habits.

DCG