Post by addisona on Feb 11, 2022 14:06:34 GMT
SIT DOWN WITH antifa: Young people are asking, 'If cops don't have to obey the law, why should I?'
A Houston anti-fascist said police behavior, COVID-19 and court backlogs have caused an uptick in the city's violent crime.
Houston, like many major cities nationwide, has seen a surge in violent crime, including an 18% increase in homicides in 2021, according to the Houston Police Department. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner released an initiative on Wednesday that would put more officers on the streets, create a gun buyback program and provide additional funding for court backlogs and domestic violence programs.
"Our elected officials and politicians need to hear from the community that not all of us want more cops or harsher policing," David Michael Smith, a member of the Houston United Front Against Fascism, told Fox News. "We need to get at the root causes of the problem."
A Houston police official recently told Fox News the crime spike was a result of the defund the police movement and the increasing anti-police rhetoric.
Smith, a former professor of government at the College of the Mainland, disagreed.
"I don't think you can blame people protesting against police murders for other murders committed by folks doing the wrong thing," he said. "Police are part of the problem."
"A lot of young people who might be inclined to commit potentially violent crimes are now asking, 'Well, if the cops don't have to obey the law, why should I?'" Smith continued.
"This is a huge, huge problem," he added.
news.yahoo.com/sit-down-antifa-young-people-142239427.html
A Houston anti-fascist said police behavior, COVID-19 and court backlogs have caused an uptick in the city's violent crime.
Houston, like many major cities nationwide, has seen a surge in violent crime, including an 18% increase in homicides in 2021, according to the Houston Police Department. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner released an initiative on Wednesday that would put more officers on the streets, create a gun buyback program and provide additional funding for court backlogs and domestic violence programs.
"Our elected officials and politicians need to hear from the community that not all of us want more cops or harsher policing," David Michael Smith, a member of the Houston United Front Against Fascism, told Fox News. "We need to get at the root causes of the problem."
A Houston police official recently told Fox News the crime spike was a result of the defund the police movement and the increasing anti-police rhetoric.
Smith, a former professor of government at the College of the Mainland, disagreed.
"I don't think you can blame people protesting against police murders for other murders committed by folks doing the wrong thing," he said. "Police are part of the problem."
"A lot of young people who might be inclined to commit potentially violent crimes are now asking, 'Well, if the cops don't have to obey the law, why should I?'" Smith continued.
"This is a huge, huge problem," he added.
news.yahoo.com/sit-down-antifa-young-people-142239427.html