Posted on 08/11/2020 7:20:03 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Carmen Best will step down as Seattle’s Police Chief—a decision that comes after the City Council voted to cut the police department’s budget by nearly $4 million.
"I want to thank Mayor Durkan for her continuous support through good times and tough times," Best said in a letter sent to members of the department Monday night. "I am confident the department will make it through these difficult times. You truly are the best police department in the country, and please trust me when I say, the vast majority of people in Seattle support you and appreciate you."
The funding reduction did not end up being as drastic as the 50 percent some wanted, though deeper cuts may come in the future.
By a vote of 7-1, the council approved a revised 2020 budget that reduced the department’s budget by $3.5 million for the remainder of the year and invested $17 million in community public safety programs.
The cut to the department’s $409-million annual budget fell way short of the 50% demanded by protesters following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in police custody on May 25. […]
The rebalanced budget reduces executive pay and eliminates 100 police officers. It also reduces the budget for travel, public affairs, training and recruitment and makes cuts to specialized units like SWAT, harbor patrol, homeland security, mounted patrol and officers in schools.
The budget also removes officers from the city’s homeless outreach team. More than a dozen business and neighborhood groups signed a letter from the Downtown Seattle Association opposing that move. (Reuters)
Best's retirement is effective Sept. 2. She will hold a press conference Tuesday at 11 a.m.
Such a shame to see it happen to so beautiful a city. Its denizens’ politics aside, Seattle rises like a jagged crust of emerald on the bay of the pacific. To saunter down Pike’s Place on a crisp autumn morning is to enjoy one of America’s finest places. And now it’s doomed to become a cesspool for heroin addicts.
Huh? ‘Jenny jenny who can I turn to?’ Constant support? Did the chief say that with a straight face? Does her pension rely on her being “nice” as she leaves? More retirements and resignations on the way?
“...And now it’s doomed to become a cesspool for heroin addicts....”
Well, thank your local democrats when ya see em....especially in the voting booth.
“The budget also removes officers from the city’s homeless outreach team. More than a dozen business and neighborhood groups signed a letter from the Downtown Seattle Association opposing that move.”
A fool’s move. It was at least an attempt to control, contain, and help a major problem. Now, with even fewer officers, watch it grow.
The only thing that will save cities like Portland and Seattle id for the voters there to get rid of these leftists that they have been electing for decades. If they want these conditions to continue, than keep reelecting the same old gang.
This is sad. Probably one of many resignations coming in the future.
what an ineffective POS
Yes... and no.
Your post assumes that the vote of the people is accurately tallied.
In a system which becomes a near one-party system, that dominant party tends to fight challenges on all fronts. One of them is getting control of the voting and tallying machinery.
As Stalin said, "It matters not who votes. What matters is who counts the votes."
In other words, if the corruption is too deep and too thorough, standard medicines (voter disapproval) may not have their usual curative strength.
Why does her departure mean “darker times” for Seattle? I thought she was part of the problem.
Only Democrats can come to the exact opposite conclusion to this situation.
The police need MORE money not less. More money means more training. More training means better cops, less training means bad cops.
Democrats are so effin stupid.
This was a putch by the silly council.
Unfortunately, for whatever reason, most voters in these cities are Democrats. And they most often vote for fellow Democrats. With some rare exceptions, the Democrats in these cities have no real political opposition.
It’s hard for some to believe, but when Gavin Newsom ran for mayor of San Francisco, he was actually seen as the more conservative, business oriented candidate, in that mecca of liberalism.
The only political opposition in these cities is within the Democrat party itself, where sometimes a Democrat who isn’t a radical lefty can get elected.
Yep. They are convinced that we need more social workers and mental health counselors.
It is sad but predictable, that someone is going to get killed, some social workers will get killed in some situation, before the liberals are shocked and awed to conclude, that sometimes, it is good to have armed trained police to deal with dangerous situations.
Well with Sawdust (Sawant) and the CC, Seattle is now turning into some Third World HH populated by vagrants, bums, hobo’s (I don’t use the liberal labels of Homeless), druggies, aggressive panhandlers. Just ripe for a movie “Escape From Seattle” - it’s dead Jim.
More retirements and resignations coming? Oh, you betcha! I predict that it won’t be long before anyone in Seattle will have to hand over whatever they have on demand from addicts and street thugs or face injury or death.
And who are they going to call for help?
The people of Seattle are going to have to wake up, get a clue, and completely change their political and social views before ANY change happens. They are going to have to stand up and fight, even if it makes them appear to be uncaring and (dare I say it?) racist. The thugs and junkies are going to have to be put down or removed and law and order will have to be restored (and like I said, a complete change of the area’s political views) IF Seattle has any chance to survive.
Betting they replace her with someone who is more compliant, and who believes police should be in the service of America-hating anarchists and separatists.
The social worker thing will last until the first time one of them gets punched or shot in a domestic violence call.
BINGO
The only thing that will save cities like Portland and Seattle id for the voters there to get rid of these leftists that they have been electing for decades.
*************
I worked around lots of liberals. They are incapable of changing their minds.
Expecting them to suddenly admit/acknowledge that they voted for the destruction of their cities is just never going to happen.
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