Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), House minority leader and potential speaker in 2023, has listed four priorities for correcting the situation that has befallen law enforcement under Joe Biden's presidency. First, their funding will be restored. Second, the drastic recruiting shortfall will be addressed. Third, Congress will work to protect officers from the violence directed against them. Finally, the GOP plans to deal with the ultra-liberal prosecutors who release offenders right back onto the streets.
Yahoo! reports that Rep. John Rutherford (R-Fla.), a former sheriff who has over 40 years of experience in law enforcement, led the police officer pillar of the task force and helped organize listening sessions in New York City, Syracuse, Austin, Portland, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Northeast Florida, and Eastern Indiana in order to come up with the framework.
He says his travels to all the different task force events revealed the "bleak" state of law enforcement across the country and that it is worse than any other point throughout his stint in law enforcement.
"It really was jaw dropping," he shares. "Never have I seen law enforcement in such a bad state from a morale standpoint [and] from a statistical standpoint. And the picture seems quite bleak going forward."
While Randy Sutton of The Wounded Blue says the thin blue line will appreciate the support, he does not think it will be an easy fix.
"I don't know that we'll ever be able to undo the damage that's been done, but we can stem the flow of blood," he comments, adding that "we are bleeding."
He is also on board with getting better prosecutors.
"We've seen such a massive increase in the last five or six years because there is no accountability for the crimes that are being committed," Sutton says. "Many of the prosecutors that have been put into office are targeting the police and being lenient towards the violent criminal."
He submits that the first priority should be protecting the police.
"People are not afraid of committing violent acts against law enforcement," he laments. "There has to be fear re-instilled in people for willingness to confront law enforcement, commit violence against them, resist arrest."
In 2021, 89 officers died in the line of duty at the hands of criminals.
