Ex-Secret Service agent Dan Bongino says ‘all lives matter’ and argues defunding police will end in ‘chaos’
FORMER Secret Service agent Dan Bongino has said defunding the police will lead to "chaos", and insisted that "all lives matter", when he was confronted with the phrase "black lives matter". Testifying at a House Judiciary Committee hearing on police reform, which also saw George Floyd's brother Philonise give a testimony, Bongino called the defund campaign an "abomination".
“I ask you please, with the greatest of respect and humility, please stop this defund the police abomination before someone gets hurt,” he said. Bongino, a conservative commentator and Fox News contributor, continued: "Listen I get it, there are serious issues with qualified immunity. "There's no question about that. We're in full agreement. The problem is if you were to repeal qualified immunity, have you considered the ‘and then what?’" He warned if police officers are open to more lawsuits, the situation could be "so oppressive that you won’t have police officers" as cops would be "afraid in the street to go and do their jobs and be proactive in communities that need it most" for fear of being sued.
Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, who is Black, listed a number of unarmed black people killed by police. He then directed comments at Bongino to confirm that multiple mass shooters who were taken into custody without incident were white. "I’m not sure where you’re going with this," Bongino replied. "Black lives matter," Jeffries said in response, to which Bongino retorted: "All lives matter." Bongino also said although he recognized there were officers out there who “aren’t suited for the job,” he said defunding police departments would result in "chaos and destruction".
Earlier on Wednesday, Philonise, Floyd's younger brother, struggled to hold back his tears as he described the last moment's of Floyd's life in the hands of four police officers, at the same committee Bongino spoke at. "The man who took his life, who suffocated him...he still called him sir as he begged for his life," Philonise continued. "I can't tell you the kind of pain you feel when you watch your big brother who you looked up to your whole life, die begging for his mama. "I’m tired. I’m tired of the pain I’m feeling now and I’m tired of the pain I feel every time another black person is killed for no reason. I'm here to ask you to make it stop. "I couldn't take care of George when he was killed, but maybe I can take care of others to make sure he isn't just another name on a t-shirt." Calls to defund the police have grown since Floyd's death, who was killed after cops knelt on him for more than eight minutes. In Minneapolis, nine of 12 city council members have vowed to end the current system of policing and invest in community-led safety instead. This comes just as the state of Minnesota has launched a civil rights investigation into Floyd’s death.
Despite Boningo's warnings, a city in New Jersey disbanded its police department more than seven years ago following widespread corruption - and the area actually saw crime fall. Camden's population is around 17% of the size of Minneapolis, but before its groundbreaking decision, it was regularly named one of the most violent cities in the US. In 2013, it had one of the highest murder rates in the country.
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In 2012, the city gave the police department the heave, rehiring 100 officers, and 150 new recruits, and crime has now dropped by 42%, according to CNN. Retired Chief Scott Thompson helped start the new program. “The organization from which we created was one in which a cultures from day one was that our officers would be guardians and not warriors,” Thompson told CBS Local.
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