DeSantis: Disrespected Police Officers Can Relocate to Florida

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday said police officers around the United States can relocate to Florida if they feel disenchanted.

“I do think you will see; I think you’ve already seen. But there are people in these police departments in various other parts of the country who, if they can get a job in Florida, they want to come to Florida to be able to do it,” he said, according to local media. “Because the culture is better, and they understand they’re going to be supported much more resolutely [in] what they do.”

DeSantis made reference to rampant anti-police protests last year following the death of George Floyd, arguing that the lack of support for law enforcement has caused crime rates to spike. Some city governments moved to cut funding to their police departments in the face of left-wing calls to “defund the police.”

Places like Baltimore, Los Angeles, New York City, Portland, Seattle, and Minneapolis cut police funding in the wake of the demonstrations and riots—although some cities have recently begun to pledge additional funding to departments.

“Make no mistake: the reason that you have such huge spikes in crime in many parts of the country is because of not standing up for law enforcement, having weak policies where you’re letting people out, and you’re not prosecuting people who are committing habitual offenses,” the Republican governor also said Monday. “That is clearly causing disastrous consequences.”

Thousands of people take part in a demonstration to defund the police in support of Black Lives Matter in Toronto, Canada, on June 19, 2020. (The Canadian Press/Nathan Denette)

The governor’s comments come amid of a wave of retirements and resignations in police and sheriff’s departments across the United States. Recruitment is also down across departments.

An analysis from The Epoch Times last month revealed that the top three police departments in the country—New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago—have lost thousands of officers since 2019. Other cities have also seen law enforcement officers step down.

Over the past two years, the LAPD has lost about 600 officers, which reportedly has been blamed on a government hiring freeze implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the Los Angeles City Council’s move to cut the department’s budget by about $150 million amid defund the police calls.

In Chicago, 646 officers resigned or retired in 2020, while as of April 30 of this year, 330 have left the department, the analysis shows.

New York City hasn’t faired much better, either, with retirements spiking to 2,600 last year from 1,509 in 2019, said an NYPD spokesperson. And about 350 NYPD officers have departed as of May 15, 2021.

Originally found on Epoch Times Read More