OPINION:
America is at a crossroads when it comes to our justice system, a reality that’s playing out in our communities through both peaceful protests and deadly, violent riots. However, the radical idea to defund the police is not just unrealistic, but it would be devastating for victims of every color and background.
As a former prosecutor in California, I know the shouts of, “Call the Police!” come quickly when evil presents itself. Sometimes that call is from a frightened woman — it usually is a woman according to national statistics — who is facing violence from a husband or boyfriend. Her call is usually desperate, and her voice filled with terror. She needs help, and she needs it right away.
Those calls also follow acts of vandalism, trafficking and terror like we saw in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001. But, in every instance, those calls are answered by men and women in uniform: the police and first responders.
Yet, following the tragic death of George Floyd, Joe Biden refuses to condemn the radical movement to “Defund the Police.” Americans must realize that this campaign is more than just a slogan; it is an effort to completely “dismantle” police departments across the nation, using the words of Minneapolis Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. Sen. Kamala Harris, who is desperately trying to earn Joe Biden’s nod for vice president, used a softer word on Monday, calling for public safety to be “reimagined.”
The law and our police do not need to be “reimagined,” and they definitely do not need to be “dismantled.” The law must be fair and applied without fear or favor for everyone. That is why Lady Justice — the personification of our justice system — is blindfolded.
What is most disturbing about Joe Biden’s weakness on the issue is that he is clearly putting his political ambitions in front of cries for help from past and future victims.
Domestic violence occurs every 15 seconds in America. It happens everywhere. Take Ohio, for example. In 2010, there were 70,717 calls related to domestic violence and in 2013, there were 38 fatalities. In Wisconsin in 2012, some 28,729 domestic violence incidents were referred in district attorneys and in 71 percent of the cases, police made an arrest.
It’s the experience and training of law enforcement and first responders that allows them to quickly identify and respond to threats. Like when a 911 caller in Ohio last year called to order a pizza. The dispatcher recognized that the call wasn’t an accident or prank, but a cry for help from a desperate daughter whose mother was being assaulted by her intoxicated boyfriend.
Thanks to the police and first responders, this women’s call was answered. It is truly unthinkable to imagine a world where calls like that go unanswered.
This nation depends on our police to keep our communities safe. The tragic death of George Floyd must not be dishonored by cynical and opportunistic actors who want to sow discord and hate in the name of addressing racial prejudice and disparity.
• Kimberly Guilfoyle was an assistant district attorney in San Francisco and a prosecuting attorney in Los Angeles. A former host of “The Five” on Fox News, she is the author of “Making the Case: How To Be Your Own Best Advocate” (Harper, 2015). She serves as a senior adviser to Donald J. Trump for President Inc.
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