By Steve Pomper
After reading the NPA’s own Chief Joel Shults’ recent outstanding article expounding on his so frequently having to assert, “I told you so,” to the radical leftists’ anti-police “police reform” failing legislation, I almost changed my topic. But my main point is that these activists need to hear, “I told you so”—repeatedly.
Chief Shults wrote, “Every so often, I think I should write something down and put it in a sealed, dated envelope. On the outside of the envelope would be the label ‘I Told You So.’ I’m not the only one who predicted that the anti-police sentiment, the decriminalization of drug possession, and lax prosecution would fail the public sooner rather than later. Well, I told you so.”
Yes, you did, Chief, and we all should continue to say it. So, here I go—again.
Remember all the so-called “police reform” laws that were all the rage during the politically manufactured St. Floyd upheaval? Legislation that conformed to their warped view of law enforcement officers based on, among other things, conflation, projection, and mythmaking.
First, they demonize cops by conflating them with racists, white supremacists, fascists, the KKK, and even Nazis. Next, they project lies based on what they believe police officers are and do. You know, savage brutes who abuse the people they serve. Finally, they bolster the first two elements using mythmaking, creating false narratives, including about cops wantonly killing minorities.
How well does mythmaking work? Ask People how many “unarmed” suspects are killed by cops every year. People often answer in the hundreds or even thousands. However, in 2019, The Washington Post reported, depending on who does the analysis, police shot and killed between 8 and 14 black men.
The discrepancy comes if you dare to regard things like a car as a weapon (as in trying to run down the cop when the suspect was shot). Yes, what some consider “unarmed” is generous. And don’t forget, unarmed does not mean un-dangerous.
The cop-hating left likes to report all people killed by police (about 1,000 avg. per year) as an inherent negative against law enforcement. But I call it a huge positive when any cop involved in a lethal encounter goes home after shift. Do I care about the thug who tried to kill a cop—um, No! Also, in virtually every one of those about a thousand incident, the suspects killed by cops, armed or unarmed, were trying to kill cops when they were shot.
After using conflation, projection, and mythmaking, cop-hating legislators rile their voters by telling them they will “fix” the problem of “violent, racist” cops by passing “police reform” legislation. And though these laws have restricted many necessary police tactics, one brought police pursuits skidding to a halt. But, in many states, that’s being reversed.
The radical left fabricated and sold a myth that reducing police chases would improve public safety—just like they said defunding the police would. Law enforcement everywhere warned the politicians their efforts would backfire.
What happened? Their efforts backfired. We told you so.
As Chief Nick Hausner of the Pierce County [WA] Sheriff’s Office posted on Linkedin, “We have seen the experiment [“police reform laws”] fail. Instead of safer roads, we have encountered more dangerous roadways. We have seen increased fatal & injury collisions. We have seen increased lawlessness. More car theft because suspects knew we could not pursue them to make an arrest and the same with reckless drivers, burglars, and the list goes on….”
So, it’s time to say, “We told you so!”? Again? Retired Chief Shults, active Chief Hausner, little ‘ol retired street cop, me, and any other cops and cop supporters who care to join in our chorus are welcome.
This isn’t just schadenfreude (deriving enjoyment from an opponent’s failure), although there’s some of that. As Chief Hausner alluded to, there are people dead today who would be alive, but for these radical politicians who continue to believe they are so right—and everyone else is so wrong—that any consequences are worth it as long as they can use it to run in the next election.
But they can only fool the people for so long. Even in a blue state like Washington people are waking up from woke. Recently, the people successfully gathered enough signatures to create a “people’s initiative.” In this state, there are Initiative to the People and Initiative to the Legislature. With a People’s Initiative to the Legislature, they can either wait for the people to vote on it or they can proactively pass the initiative, after which the law would take effect in 90 days.
According to KING 5 News, the leftist-controlled state Senate and House actually passed Initiative 2113 36-13 and 77-20 respectively. It will become law after three months.
Why would such an initiative be necessary? Because when radicals disregard common sense, like cops chasing crooks, they make such “fixes” necessary.
Consider the introduction to I-2113:
“AN ACT Relating to restoring the authority of a peace officer to engage in a vehicular pursuit when there is reasonable suspicion a person has violated the law and the officer follows appropriate safety standards; and amending RCW 10.116.060.”
“Duh,” right?
I’m sure the radical left hates this citizen-centric initiative process. KING 5 explained, “Unlike typical legislation, initiatives to the legislature do not require a governor’s signature and are veto-proof.”
Once again, ignoring what’s right in their faces, cop haters at the Washington Coalition for Police Accountability (WCPA) shun reason and oppose the police pursuit fix. They cling to their mythmaking: “We believe it will lead to more injuries, more deaths and increased collateral damage, without any benefit to public safety such as solving crimes or reducing lawlessness.”
“We believe?” So what? Who cares what they believe? It’s their fellow whacko lefties recovering some sanity and returning laws to what they were—when they worked.
What police academy did they go to. Their viewpoint isn’t only wrong on the facts but also according to common sense. Since the anti-police laws were passed, crimes involving vehicles have increased, causing even blue jurisdictions to reverse course from Washington to the other Washington (I’ll let you figure out which is which). For example, there’s been a crimewave involving criminals stealing two cars. They crash one into a store, steal merchandise, and then use the other to escape.
It’s hilarious when the radical left tries to claim (more mythmaking) that, despite these crimes, crime is going down— “statistically.” Well, when police lack staffing, the governors, mayors, and councils won’t allow officers to enforce the law, and prosecutors and judges refuse to prosecute criminals, wouldn’t the crime stats decline? And you can add to that the many people who have stopped calling 911 to report crimes because of a lack of response or investigation.
Seattle, always ahead of the nation in the social justice game, virtually outlawed police chases more than a decade ago while I was still active. An academy classmate assigned to the Anti-Crime Team (ACT) (I know… as opposed to a Pro-Crime Team) once told me he and his partner got behind a stolen car and hit their emergency lights. The gangbanger driver just leaned out the window and shouted, “You can’t chase me” (there may have been an expletive or two tossed in there, but this is a family site, so….)
He was right. My buddy told me the guy peeled out and sped down the hill toward Interstate 5. So, I’m sure they wondered what to do instead of police work the city wouldn’t let them do? I’m sure heading to Starbucks seemed a worthy option.
Restricting the police didn’t work then, it doesn’t work now, and it won’t work in the future.
Oh, by the way, We told you so!
And I’m sure we will again.