Seattle City Councilwoman Lisa Herbold, who has spent months trying to defund the police, just called 911 to protect her over a crime that she wants dismissed. She has previously argued to the City Council that people need an opportunity to tell their stories based on the values of the city. Does that change her view on crime since it happened at her home?
These anti-policing protests have been linked to the death of George Floyd, who died in the presence of a police officer. Since then, the radical left and Black Lives Matter Movement have advocated for the transfer of police department funds to more social services and programs. Herbold, along with the rest of Seattle’s City Council, have been proposing to excuse misdemeanor crimes if they can be linked to poverty, addiction, or mental disorders. This would approve cuts of about $3.5 million to the department’s budget. They even suggested creating a public fund to restitute or compensate theft victims if the offender cannot pay them.
Democrat-run cities have been advocating for a culture of lawlessness and fear all summer long. KTTH Radio host Jason Rantz discussed the proposal’s flaws, saying that someone can come from outside of the region, who is destitute, who is low income, and break a whole bunch of laws knowing that if you do it in Seattle, you’re not going to get in any trouble.
“We have a prolific offender problem where pretty much the same 100 or so individuals keep breaking the law, not seeing any punishment, and then doing the same thing over and over and over again,” said Rantz.
Councilwoman Herbold, however, phoned the police (and not social services) after hearing a noise that sounded like a gunshot in her home. A man had reportedly thrown a rock through her living room window. A police report from the neighbor described the suspect as “unathletic and a bad runner.”
If Herbold’s proposal follows through, the suspect who threw the rock through her window could possibly avoid criminal charges if caught. As long as the suspect can prove the crime was needed to survive through “poverty defense,” such as symptoms of mental illness or addiction, they could have the case dismissed.
Others, such as former mayoral Public Safety Advisor Scott Lindsay, said that it is a green light for crime. “If you are engaged in 100 different misdemeanors that are in our criminal justice system code, you are not going to be held liable. You are not going to be held accountable,” he explained.
Seattle has already seen a 525% spike in crime since the summer protests, including a record-setting in 28 murders this year. There has also been an increase in the number of domestic violence, according to King County data. 39 officers left Seattle police in September alone, setting a new Seattle office budget record.
The lack of self-awareness from the left is unreal. Maybe next time they can just send a social worker to her house. Elected officials should be less worried about laws against the common person and more focused on limiting government power.
