LA Homicides Soar 250%, Shootings 56% Amid Calls to Defund Police
Surge reflects reports elsewhere in the country as riots and looting explode
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Democrat-run Los Angeles has seen a spike in homicides and shootings amid Black Lives Matter protests and calls from leftist officials to defund the police.
The Los Angeles Police Department reported a 250% rise in homicides, and a 56 percent increase in shootings.
The worrying surge seems to reflect reports elsewhere in the country as riots and looting exploded alongside “peaceful protests” following the death of George Floyd.
The week of 5/31 to 6/6, homicides went up 250% and victims shot went up 56% compared to the previous week.
— LAPD HQ (@LAPDHQ) June 9, 2020
The past 24 hrs has seen 4 shootings, one of those resulting in a homicide. Detectives are following leads to ID & arrest the suspects—but we’re also asking for your help pic.twitter.com/UXwZD7pPze
Chicago marked its single deadliest 24-hour period in 60 years, with 18 people killed.
The crime has exploded due to police being pulled to secure downtown areas where looters and rioters ravaged the city.
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L.A's bloodiest week comes as Mayor Eric Garcetti’s announcement the LAPD budget would be cut by up to $150 million, more than two percent of the current total.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez also pushed for the city's police department to be defunded.
But as Neon Nettle reported on Tuesday, Martinez had her own private LAPD detail guarding her home amid the unrest.
#LATEST LA Council Pres. Nury Martinez, who introduced a motion to cut #LAPD’s budget by $150 million, had a private LAPD protection detail camped at her home from April to June. It was called off the night we called to ask her team about it. Full story coming to @SpecNews1SoCal pic.twitter.com/1lv5ctqQEC
— Natalie Brunell (@natbrunell) June 9, 2020
Minneapolis City Council President Lisa Bender declared she was “willing to stand” with those who want the goal of a "police free future."
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"Speaking to CNN on Monday night, Bender said, “the idea of having a police-free future is very aspirational."
“I think the idea of having a police free future is very aspirational, and I am willing to stand with community members who are asking us to think of that as the goal because so many folks in our community have seen us work on reform.”
On Monday, New York City's Democrat Mayor Bill de Blasio announced cuts to the NYPD's $6 billion budget.
The Mayor revealed he was taking money from the city's police department and investing it into youth programs and social services for minority communities.
"We need to do a lot more for our young people," de Blasio said during a press conference.
"We will be moving funding from the NYPD to youth initiatives and social services."
