A story in the Washington Post may say it all about Democrat mayors in major metropolitan areas who just can’t get a handle on violent crime.
“We have done almost all we can do,” lamented Savannah, Ga. Mayor Van Johnson, the newspaper reported.
Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson declared in the same report, “It’s going to get worse…There’s nothing that’s going to bring this down in the near future.”
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Mayor Greg Fischer of Louisville fell back on the old reliable excuses: blaming guns and poverty.
“There are just guns everywhere,” he said.
The same Washington Post article notes, “Republicans — along with many police unions and some chiefs — say the real cause of the spike in killings has been an overzealous criminal justice reform movement that has devastated morale in departments and allowed too many criminals to go free.”
That’s a problem everywhere it would seem as people with lengthy criminal records continue showing up in courtrooms, only to have low bail set, or to be released on their own recognizance, only to offend again.
Could it be that crime is up in these cities because the policies established and perpetuated by the liberal governments have attracted and enabled the criminal element to migrate to those environs and misbehave because they are allowed to get away with it?
“Nowhere do you see recognition that there are some people who cause incredible harm to the community and who unfortunately need to be in jail,” Bill Bratton, the former police commissioner in New York, Los Angeles and Boston, told the newspaper.
Underscoring that is the tragic story out of Seattle, where a female police officer, Alexandra “Lexi” Harris was struck and killed by a car while she was trying to assist at a traffic accident. Turns out the accident was caused by a suspect identified as 49-year-old Roger Lee Owens, who was driving an alleged stolen U-Haul.
Owens allegedly fled the scene in Harris’ Toyota 4Runner SUV as she lay lifeless on the pavement, taking her backpack that contained her uniform, badge and gun. The King County Prosecutor’s Office has filed charges against Owens including felony hit-and-run, theft of a motor vehicle and unlawful possession of a firearm in the first degree. Prosecutors are asking for $250,000 bail.
Owens has a lengthy criminal history. At the time of the June 13 crash and Officer Harris’ death, there were warrants for his arrest, relating to an earlier case in Seattle involving illegal drugs, a stolen Glock pistol and fake ID. He claimed to have ditched the pistol in a garbage can.
According to the documents, Owens is a convicted felon with seven prior convictions for robbery, possession of a controlled substance and promoting prostitution. This time he may stay behind bars for a long time, if convicted.
Experts can’t seem to agree on all the causes for the violence, but one thing is clear. While they continue to disagree, the crime rates will continue to rise, along with the body counts.
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