As We Celebrate Police Week, Let’s Never Forget How Dismissive The Whitmer Administration Has Been To Law Enforcement Whitmer
Supported Defunding The Police And Encouraged Black Lives Matter Protests After They Turned Violent
- Whitmer supported the “spirit” of defunding the police.
- This came after rioters smashed windows, overturned a vehicle and started fires in downtown Lansing and attacked a police headquarters in Grand Rapids.
- Whitmer told protesters who were defying the law “I’m with you.”
- After the riots began, the Whitmer Administration began launching retroactive investigations into police.
- In 2021, the Lansing Police Chief Resigned citing political tensions after the 2020 riots.
- This came after rioters smashed windows, overturned a vehicle and started fires in downtown Lansing and attacked a police headquarters in Grand Rapids.
- Whitmer cut $13 million in funding for the Michigan State Police’s secondary road program to combat drunk driving in rural Michigan.
- In 2018, 5,667 criminal arrests including 1,183 impaired drivers were made due to the secondary road program.
Gilchrist Has Disparaged Law Enforcement And Stoked Racial Resentment
- Gilchrist disparaged law enforcement.
- Gilchrist accused ICE agents of “threatening” lives and “endangering people in our society.”
- Gilchrist questioned the legitimacy of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
- Gilchrist accused law enforcement of torture by comparing tasers to waterboarding.
- Gilchrist fanned the flames of racial resentment towards law enforcement
- In 2014, Gilchrist disagreed with President Obama’s calls for calm during the Ferguson riots.
- Gilchrist criticized President Obama for not being more “outspoken on race.”
- Gilchrist stood up for a four-time convicted murderer and co-founder of the Crips gang saying he should be spared the death penalty because he is a “great leader.”
- Stanley Williams, who Gilchrist called a “great leader” and a fellow “SuperSpade” was a co-founder of the Crips gang and was convicted of killing four people in two armed robberies.
- Gilchrist supported policies that inhibited law enforcement’s ability to keep dangerous criminals off the street.
- Gilchrist co-chaired Whitmer’s task force on jail and pretrial incarceration which recommended that criminals be “presumptively” imposed sentences other than jail.
- Gilchrist criticized cash bail.
- Gilchrist believes that there are too many people in jail.
Violent Crime Rates Increased In Michigan Under Whitmer And Gilchrist’s Lack Of Leadership
- The violent crime rate in Michigan rose 8.98 percent in 2020 nearly twice the rate increase nationally of 4.65 percent.
- In 2018, Michigan ranked 14th in the nation in the violent crime rate, under just two years of Whitmer’s leadership Michigan rose to the 10th most violent state in the union in 2020.
- In 2020, The City of Detroit’s violent crime rate increased 10.2 percent from 2019, this is lower than other major cities in Michigan.
- Saginaw’s violent crime rate increased by 44.9 percent in 2020.
- Lansing’s violent crime rate increased by 28.7 percent in 2020.
- Flint’s violent crime rate increased by 25.2 percent in 2020.
- Grand Rapids’ violent crime rate increased by 11.5 percent in 2020.
- Kalamazoo ‘s violent crime rate increased by 13.7 percent in 2020.