On Friday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Lead,” San Francisco Police Chief William Scott said that rhetoric after the murder of George Floyd and lenient prosecution policies are fueling the increase in violence against police officers.
Host Jake Tapper asked, “Do you think it’s because of the heated rhetoric in light of — in the wake of the murder of George Floyd by officer Chauvin — former officer Chauvin, or do you think it has to do with less, fewer prosecutions? We’ve seen some new prosecutors take control, ones with more lenient ideas in terms of crime and punishment, such as the Manhattan district attorney. I mean, what’s the reason? What’s fueling it? Or is it all of it in your view?”
Scott responded, “Well, I think it’s all of it. Look, when crimes are committed against police officers, whether it’s a minor assault — in my opinion, there’s no such thing as a minor assault against a police officer. When an officer’s out there doing the job that the public is asking them to do and they’re doing it lawfully and doing it within the policies, and they’re attacked, that’s not a minor thing. And whether that attack results in no injury or a minor injury or death, like we saw with our fallen officers in New York, nothing about attacking a police officer is minor. And when the evidence is there, it is my professional and personal opinion that there should be consequences when police officers are attacked. And I think when there are policies that broadly dismiss those cases, that’s a real problem. It’s a problem for our society, and it’s a problem for policing.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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