Staff Reports
It comes as no surprise to conservatives that the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department resulted in the finding of evidence of alleged excessive force and racial discrimination. Shockingly, the DOJ began investigating the department just one day after Derek Chauvin was convicted of the second-degree murder of George Floyd in May of 2020. Could this be any more transparent of a political agenda by the Biden administration?
Not Shocking – DOJ Finds Minneapolis Police Guilty of Excessive Force, Racial Discrimination https://t.co/fQXcb8z7mY
— RedState (@RedState) June 16, 2023
Attorney General Merrick Garland announced on Friday that the DOJ found reasonable cause to believe that Minneapolis police and the city violated the First and Fourth Amendments of the Constitution. Of course, the announcement conveniently leaves out that not all police officers lack professionalism, courage, and respect, as Garland himself acknowledged.
Minneapolis:
Democrat Mayor
Democrat City Council
Democrat District Attorney
Democrat Attorney General
Democrat Congresswomen
Democrat US Senators
Democrat State Legislators
Democrat State Senators
Democrat Police ChiefNow Biden’s DOJ has found “systemic racism” in the… https://t.co/A3tB8VsxEw
— DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) June 16, 2023
I double dog dare Merrick Garland to walk down the center of Martin Luther King Boulevard in Minneapolis at night time without a police escort.
You can bring your social workers with you, of course.#GeorgeFloyd— andieiam (@andieiamwhoiam) June 16, 2023
Merrick Garland now going after the Minneapolis Police Department. Garland is a left wing political hack who sides with criminals.
— Happy Independent 🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@happy_guy2018) June 16, 2023
Despite this, Garland couldn’t help but blame Minneapolis police for Floyd’s death, even though he acknowledged that many officers did their difficult work with professionalism, courage and respect. Garland claimed that the “patterns and practices” of the Minneapolis police contributed to Floyd’s death. Give us a break, Garland. It’s clear where this announcement, much like the investigation, is headed: more government oversight of the police.
Conservatives will recall that Floyd’s death led to a wave of violent protests, fires, and looting that spread across the nation. Protests also called for the defunding of police departments across the country. One of the most vocal advocates for defunding the Minneapolis Police Department was none other than Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and other top Democrats like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Cori Bush, Kirsten Gillibrand, and Bernie Sanders also supported the movement. Nine members of the Minneapolis City Council even vowed to defund and dismantle their city’s police department.
Ironically, the remedy for alleged excessive force by Minneapolis police was to disband the police department. However, Garland fails to acknowledge that crime skyrocketed in Minneapolis after the death of George Floyd, which led many of these same Democrats to reconsider and find ways to increase funding. In 2020 alone, the murder rate in Minneapolis skyrocketed to one of the highest in the nation, a shocking increase from 46 in 2019 to 93.
Violent crime in 2021 rose 21.6 percent from 2020, which makes it no surprise that Garland was forced to announce a $1.6 billion grant aimed at combating high crime rates in large, mostly Democrat-run cities. Surprisingly, the funds could be used for a wide array of ways, including hiring more officers. Maybe Democrats were finally coming to the realization that defunding the police wasn’t so effective after all.
Crime in large cities like Minneapolis continues to rise, and it’s clear that it will become an issue in the 2024 presidential campaign. Democrats need to wake up and realize that big government oversight will not solve all their problems. Crazy proposals like the defunding of police departments only make things worse. We need to support our country’s brave police officers, not demonize them.
