How is that “Defunding the Police” Working Out? Part 2

This article was provided exclusively to the New York Analysis of Policy and Government by the distinguished retired judge, John H. Wilson

Is there any relation between Chicago Mayor Lightfoot’s views and the increase in violent crime? According to the Chicago Sun Times, “as the number of murders in Chicago soared in June, there was a huge slowdown of police activity that the police union blames on rock-bottom morale and distrust of Mayor Lori Lightfoot.”

Portland, Oregon is in a category all its own. As of this writing, riots disguised as protests have gone on for 60 straight days. In particular, these rioters have focused on the federal courthouse, prompting federal agents to protect federal property. The reaction of Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler? “(This) appears to be a blatant abuse of police authority by the Trump administration. As best as I can tell, this is an effort – a last-gasp effort by a failed president with sagging polling data who’s trying to look strong for his base, and so he is actually using the federal police function in support of his candidacy.”

Mayor Wheeler has made no secret of his intention to defund the Portland Police. According to The Oregonian, he has “pledged the city will divert $12 million from the police bureau and other city departments to directly support communities of color, defund three police units including the gun violence reduction team and ban officers from using chokeholds as part of plans to reform the Portland Police Bureau.”

This leads us to Mayor Bill DeBlasio of New York City, another proponent of defunding his city’s police department. “According to the NYPD, 178 homicides were reported in New York City so far this year. The statistics include information through June 30. This is a 21 percent increase from the number (of) homicides reported during the same time last year when the city saw 147 homicides…The city has seen 528 shooting incidents and 636 shooting victims this year through June 30. This translates to a 46 percent increase in incidents and a 53 percent increase in shooting victims compared to the same time last year when the city reported 362 incidents and 415 victims.”

Yet, how does Mayor DeBlasio spend his time while murder and shootings are on the rise? When not quoting Karl Marx, and Che Guevara, the Mayor is painting the words “Black Lives Matter” in front of Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue.

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Of all the actions of the various Mayors discussed here, Mayor DeBlasio is the only one who might have violated Ethical Rules by his actions. Under Chapter 68 of the New York City Charter, Section 2604(b)(2) and (3), “No public servant shall engage in any business, transaction or private employment, or have any financial or other private interest, direct or indirect, which is in conflict with the proper discharge of his or her official duties,” and “No public servant shall use or attempt to use his or her position as a public servant to obtain any financial gain, contract, license, privilege or other private or personal advantage, direct or indirect, for the public servant or any person or firm associated with the public servant.”

Does painting the words “Black Lives Matter” on a public street constitute an attempt to “use his position as a public servant to obtain any…other private or personal advantage” and constitute an act “in conflict with the proper discharge of his…official duties?” That would be up to the NYC Conflict of Interest Board to decide. But the placement of this particular “mural” just outside the residence of the current President, when DeBlasio is a former candidate for the Presidency himself underscores the political advantage New York City’s Mayor may expect from supporters of Black Lives Matter.

And need it be mentioned that Mayor Lightfoot, Mayor Wheeler and Mayor DeBlasio are all members of the Democratic Party?

All the blame for New York City’s problems cannot be laid at the feet of Mayor DeBlasio alone. Doing his part to support the new agenda, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, a contender for Mayor of New York in the next election, “urged people to solve non-violent disputes among themselves without involving police officers to avoid the risk of a police confrontation escalating.” The result? “A Brooklyn woman was killed after attempting to reason with several people illegally setting off fireworks in the neighborhood of East New York.”

So how is that “Defunding the Police” thing going for these cities? Apparently, no so good.

Photo: Chicago Mayor Lightfoot (Office of the Mayor)

Quick Analysis

U.S. Nuclear Modernization is Urgent Priority

The undersecretary of the U.S. Air Force, Melissa Dalton, warns that “With two nuclear-armed peer competitors — Russia and China — and with both advancing their nuclear capability, the U.S. now, more than ever, must move at full speed to modernize its nuclear deterrence capability. That effort is not just for U.S. national security, but as well for partners who depend on the U.S.” She stressed that the threat from aggressive, unfriendly nuclear armed nations is unprecedented. “We face for the first time in our nation’s history, two strategic competitors that are nuclear states with large and growing nuclear arsenals. When we look at the [People’s Republic of China] and its breathtaking modernization over the last two decades, we see today they have over 500 operational nuclear warheads, far exceeding prior projections.” Some suspect that China’s nuclear force may even be larger than commonly believed. According to recent Pentagon report, “Over the next decade, the PRC will continue to rapidly modernize, diversify, and expand its nuclear forces. Compared to the PLA’s nuclear modernization efforts a decade ago, current efforts dwarf previous attempts in both scale and complexity. The PRC is expanding the number of its land-, sea-, and air-based nuclear delivery platforms while investing in and constructing the infrastructure necessary to support further expansion of its nuclear forces. The Undersecretary noted that in coming years, the U.S. expects China’s warheads to exceed 1,000. Russia, the worlds preeminent nuclear power, also remains a challenge. “We see Russia brandishing its nuclear weapons in the context of the Ukraine conflict and also possessing novel nuclear capabilities that are designed to challenge our escalation calculus.The stakes are incredibly high.” Dalton noted that During the Cold War, the U.S. maintained top-notch nuclear deterrence, and the domestic defense industry stood ready to provide whatever was needed. But since the fall of the Soviet Union, and with the U.S. focused on other parts of the world for the past 20-plus years, the U.S. must now up its game. “We mortgaged our nuclear modernization for 30 years. We had the post-Cold War peace dividend… But the fact is, the bills are now way past due, and in that time, our competitors went to school on us, and they caught up.” With U.S. defense underpinned by its nuclear deterrent, modernization of that capability is a top priority for the Department of Defense, she stressed. Air Force Gen. Anthony Cotton, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, said that while two-thirds of the nuclear triad, the ground systems and the aircraft-based systems belong to the Air Force — the submarine systems belong to the Navy — modernization is not just an Air Force effort or even just a Navy effort. “It is imperative that we understand that it’s not a Department [of Defense] imperative that we maintain the nuclear security and nuclear triad,” he said. “It is a national imperative. It’s national policy that the foundation of what we hold dear, the framework of that is nuclear deterrence. And to add to that, and I’ve seen this in the last 19 months of being in command, our allies and partners are counting on us more than ever.” Last year, Senator John Kennedy (R-La) warned that “Today, we no longer face just one threat. Russia still maintains the world’s largest nuclear arsenal, but China’s nuclear stockpile is growing rapidly. North Korea continues to threaten our allies with its collection of nuclear weapons. And, thanks to the disastrous Iran nuclear deal, Iran is marching ever closer to developing nuclear weapons of its own. The United States must now counter nuclear superpowers in both China and Russia while also deterring the itchy trigger fingers of unstable dictators like Kim Jong Un and the Ayatollah in Iran. We should be innovating and preparing our nuclear arsenal for this new global dynamic, but instead, our nuclear stockpile remains stuck in the Cold War. Simply put: America’s nuclear stockpile is old and shrinking. And while modernizing our nuclear arsenal should be a top priority, our effort to restart nuclear weapon production has been riddled with delays and poor planning. And we don’t have time to waste.” Photo: A Titan II missile on display inside the missile silo at Missile Site 8 in Green Valley, Ariz. (DoD)