San Francisco defunded police: oops, the mayor does a double-reverse

Since the death of thug George Floyd in Minnesota and the following riots across the country that saw billions of dollars in damage and lives lost to BLM and Antifa, Democrat-run cities, and leftist politicians have called for the defunding of police departments at a time when police were needed the most.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed was one of the loudest and obnoxious voices to call for the defunding as she joined the cretin communists in a cry to divert funds from the police that summer until the proverbial poo hit the fan and she reversed course. She did so not because it was the proper course of action, but because it was politically to her advantage.

[H/T FOX News Digital]

"We will redirect $120 million from law enforcement to support these priorities over the next two years," Breed said in her announcement on July 31, 2020. In an attempt to sound Biden-like she said: "Let me repeat that. This is 120 million dollars." 

She spoke as if this was her plan all along, but some on the right side of the aisle saw the hypocrisy in her latest epiphany.

Breed's plan redirected $120 million in funds from both the police and sheriff’s departments in San Francisco over two years to fund initiatives for Black Americans in the burned out city. She had originally described the defunding as "a gesture of reparations for decades of city policymaking that have created or exacerbated deep inequities for San Francisco’s African American residents." [As opposed to policing those who were breaking the law.]

Along with Breed came others across the country who put the criminals ahead of the victims. Among them is Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) who supported calls from anarchists for funds to be taken from police departments to divest to other initiatives such as mental health and youth services.

Predictably, crime in San Francisco and the other Democratic-run cities soared. In San Francisco homicides increased by 20% in 2020 compared to 2019, and by another 17% in 2021 compared to 2020. Although rape and robbery decreased on 2020, burglaries shot up 47% that year when compared to the three previous years. Smash-and-grab crimes also climbed, especially in the holiday season and this carried into 2022.

Drug overdose accidental deaths also climbed in 2020 and that outpaced the COVID-19 deaths that year. San Francisco residents reported that their quality of life decreased that year as well. 

Data on homicides in San Francisco mirrored the national trend from 2020. Murders, according to FBI statistics, shot up by almost 30%, the largest single-year increase in killings since the FBI began tracking crimes.

"Certainly, the protests and riots mid-2020 after the death of George Floyd followed a pattern of spiking violence that we've seen following past viral police incidents, such as the deaths of Michael Brown and Freddie Gray. This pattern has been termed the ‘Ferguson Effect’: police pull back while violent crime spikes precipitously," Hannah Meyers, director of the policing and public safety initiative at the Manhattan Institute, told FOX News Digital earlier this year of the national murder increases in 2020.

Police departments became demoralized, understaffed and faced difficulty recruiting new officers. Law enforcement leaders pointed to the defund movement and anti-police sentiment as the cause for this dilemma. After all, who in their right mind would want to work at a job where you are hated and even targeted? 

This had become a national trend to the delight of the Left like Ilhan Omar and the so-called squad. Even Vice President Kamala Harris called for the defunding but now sings a different tune, pretending she never called for it in the first place.

The San Francisco Police Department has reported more of the same situation as the national trend. As of this month, the department is down about 300 officers, while in July alone, 50 cops left the department, with only eight to 10 recruits ready to fill their gumshoes. 

Between April 2020 and April 2021, resignations increased by 18% and retirements by 45%, Mission Local reported this year.

* * *

Hey folks, consider subscribing to Brain Flushings and please check out the ads on these pages. It costs nothing to subscribe and it's worth every penny. And remember, every time you click on an ad, you help in the fight against Communism, ignorance, The New York Times, and the heebie-jeebies. You also help me. Thanks.

* * *

But in spite of their obvious incompetence and their leftist identity politics, people still vote for Democrats and believe the promises they make, which brings to mind an Albert Einstein quote: "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results."

It's good to see that Mayor Breed has changed course, but look at how much damage was caused along the way.

Tweet