On Wednesday’s broadcast of Fox News Radio’s “Guy Benson Show,” Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) said that attacking and defunding police leads to increases in violent crime, and that talks on police reform must keep in mind, “as everyone’s focusing on solving a racial issue, the victims of these crimes are black too.”
Scott stated that he is “cautiously optimistic” a bill will emerge, “if they live within the parameters that I have set. Number one, we will not demonize law enforcement officers. Qualified immunity for their individual liability cannot be on the table. It is too hard to understand the life, the day in the life of an officer for us to negotiate on their individual liability. Number two, we must never break the fused relationship between communities of color and those officers with character coming in to respond to crises. If we keep those two as the pillars of this conversation, we have a good chance of getting to a solution. If the Democrats keep fighting to defund the police, if they keep fighting to demonize the police, if they continue to disregard the actual necessity of law enforcement officers, you’ll see Portland, New York, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Minneapolis, as classic examples of what happens when you demonize and disregard, as well as defund the police. Violent crime spikes, murders spike, and every other negative principle and indicator all go in the wrong direction.”
He added, “So, if you’re going to have a serious conversation about police reform, just remember, the victims of these crimes, as everyone’s focusing on solving a racial issue, the victims of these crimes are black too.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett