The Washington Post - USA (2022-03-06)

SUNDAY,MARCH 6 , 2022 .THEWASHINGTONPOST EZ RE A

underevacuationorders

throughoutthe day.

—AssociatedPress

Manarrestedafterbodyof

womanfound:Thebody of a

Floridawomanwas foundby

deputiesin aseptictankburied

in her backyard,and her

handymanhas beencharged

withkillingher,authoritiessaid

Saturday. Investigatorsin Jensen

Beach,Fla.,foundabody

believed to be thatofCynthia

Coles,submerged in the septic

tankafter excavating her

backyardlate Friday, the Martin

CountySheriff’sOffice saidon

Facebook.Deputiesarrested her

handyman,Keoki Hilo Demich

whowas charged withsecond-

degreemurder.

Bransonperformersentenced

forfraud:Aperformerin

Branson,Mo., has been

sentencedto five yearsof

probationin afraud case.James

PatrickGarrett,65, bestknown

for his John Denver tribute,also

was orderedto pay$82,000in

restitutionwhenhe was

sentencedFridayfor wirefraud,

the Springfield News-Leader

reported. Authoritiessaythatin

2012, Garrett created acompany

namedDiamondJymRanch,

whichpurported to provide

food,housing,educationand

otherneedsto displacedor

homelesschildrenbut thathe

usedthe donated moneytoeat

out,payoff creditcards,and pay

rentand taxes.

Teacherchargedwith

assaultingstudent:An Indiana

teacheraccusedof grabbinga

studentand slappinghimacross

the facehas beencharged with

batterycausingmoderateinjury.

AjudgeonFridayfoundthere

was probablecausefor the

felonychargeagainstformer

JimtownHigh Schoolteacher

MichaelHosinski,61, of Osceola.

In courtdocumentsfiled Friday,

officialsdescribedavideo of the

Feb. 25 incidentwhichappears

to showHosinskigrab astudent

by his backpack,forcehimintoa

walland strikehim acrossthe

face.Thestudentsufferedan

abrasionand lumpon his head

and an abrasionin his mouth,

courtrecordsstate.

—Fromnewsservices

KANSAS

Teenchargedin

schoolshooting

An 18-year-oldstudentwas

charged Saturdayinashooting

thatwoundedan administrator

and aschoolresourceofficer at a

KansasCityhigh school.

TheJohnsonCounty

prosecutor’s office saidJaylon

DeseanElmoreis charged with

attemptedcapitalmurderin the

shootingFridayatOlathe East

High School.Hisbondis setat

$1 million.

Olathe policespokesmanJoel

Yeldellsaidthe resourceofficer

notified dispatch overthe radio

justafter 10:30a.m.Fridaythat

he and an administrator had

beenshotand woundedby a

studentin the office. Yeldellsaid

the officer saidhe returnedfire,

shootingand woundingthe

student.

All threeweretaken to

hospitals.Thesheriff’soffice

identified the resourceofficer on

Twitter as ErikClark.

—AssociatedPress

FLORIDA

Hundredsof homes

evacuatedamidfire

Residentsof hundredsof

FloridaPanhandlehomeswere

evacuated as awildfiredestroyed

twohousesand damaged 12

others,officialssaidSaturday.

More than200 firefighters

and emergencyworkers from

aroundthe Panhandleworked

overnightto strengthen

containmentlinesand protect

homes.As of Saturdaymorning,

the 1,500-acreAdkinsAvenue

Firewas 30 percentcontained,

accordingto the FloridaForest

Service.

Theagencyhas deployed

morethanadozentractor plow

unitsas wellas multiple

helicopters,and burnbanswere

in effectinparts of the region,

officialssaidin anewsrelease.

At least600 homeshad been

evacuated as of Saturday

morning,but thatfigurewas

expected to growas new

neighborhoodswereplaced

politics &the nation

DIGEST

0

200k

400k

600k

800k

1m

1.2m

7-dayavg.

Feb. 29,2020 March 5

0

2k

4k

7-dayavg.

Feb. 29,2020 Jan. 2021 March 5

1m

2m

3m

4m

5m

7-day avg.

Feb. 29,2020 Jan. 2021 March 5

0

Asof8p.m.Saturday

79,244,

554,868,

957,

44,

1,

334,

Total

DEATHS

Total

VACCINE DOSES ADMINISTERED

Newcoronaviruscases,deaths and

vaccinedoses in theU.S., by day

Total

CASES

7-dayaverage

7-dayaverage

7-dayaverage

BYCLEVER.WOOTSONJR.

Withhomicide rates increasing
insomemajorcities,supportwan-
ing for reducing policefunding
and Republicans aggressively
pushinga“law andorder”mid-
termmessage, President Biden
declaredinhis State of the Union
address thispastweek:“The an-
sweris not to defundthe police.
It’s to fund the police.Fund them.
Fund them.”
Although this haslong been
Biden’s position, theblunt state-
ment broughtRepublican law-
makerstotheir feetinapplause,
provided abumper-sticker-size
soundbitetoDemocratsrunning
in swingdistrictsand confirmed
to dismayed activists thatthe
once-widespreaddesiretoover-
haulpolicinghas lost its momen-
tum.
In June 2020, amidnationwide
racialjustice protests after the
murder of GeorgeFloyd by aMin-
neapolis police officer,about a
quarter of Americanssupported
reducingpolice funding by alittle
or alot, according to aPew Re-
searchCentersurvey. By October
2021, thatsupporthad fallento
15 percent.There wereeven stark-
er drops among voters wholeaned
Democratic.
With the midterms eight
monthsaway, Bidenand party
leaders believe thatcoming out
strongly in supportofpolice will
asphyxiate inaccurateRepublican
argumentsthatDemocratsare
anti-police, according to asenior
administration official whospoke
on the conditionof anonymityto
discuss strategyonacontentious
issue. Andthe WhiteHousesees
Biden’s stanceas closerto where
mostDemocratsand mostAmeri-
cansare,includingmanypeople
in communities of color.
Butfor many liberal activists,
“fund the police”soundedlikea
betrayal —especially as police
shotandkilledat least1,055peo-
ple in 2021, the highest totalsince
TheWashington Post begantrack-
ing suchincidentsin2015.
“Nobody wants to hearthe
movement or theworkthey’re
passionateabout is being dis-
missed by thepresidentof the
UnitedStates,”said BerniceLau-
redan, an organizer withTampa
DreamDefenders. “Weneed more
thansymbolism. We needmore
thankneeling.It’sterribleto see
the workthatpeoplehavedone on
improving ourcommunities, on
investinginmakingadifference,
justbepushedto the side.”
Lauredanspent the summerof
2020marching through the swel-
tering streets of TampaandSt.
Petersburg, Fla., demonstrating
for wholesale policerestructuring
and sayingFloyd’sname. That
year,Biden metwith Floyd’s fam-
ily,calledfor “realpolicereform”
and showedhis solidaritywiththe
movementby takingaknee in
Delaware.
Then, over the next twoyears,
Lauredansaid, shewatched elect-
ed leaders ignorenearlyevery-
thing she marched for: Tampain-
creased the policebudget instead
of shuttlingdollarsto othercom-
munityservices.Policerestructur-
ing legislationthatboreFloyd’s
namestalledinthe Senate. Bipar-

tisannegotiations focusedon po-

lice revisioncollapsedamiddis-

agreements.And public opinion

has shifted away fromwhatactiv-

ists refer to as police abolition.

ForLauredan, Biden’s words

Tuesday, andthe bipartisan ap-

plausethatfollowed, hit likea

eulogy—and she worries the sen-

timentwill leadto morepoliceon

U.S. streets and moredeaths.

At Thursday’s WhiteHouse

briefing,press secretaryJen Psaki

said“fund the police”has been

Biden’s viewfor decades,and he

wasdefendinghimselfandhis

party from“attempts to mischar-

acterizehis position and the posi-

tionof, frankly,anumberofhis

Democratic colleagues.”

“The president has beenclear

manytimesthathebelieves that

we needto continueto ensure

policedepartmentshavethefund-

ing theyneed, thatthere are

strongrelationshipsand partner-

shipsbuiltwithcommunities,but

thatthere alsoneedstobesteps

thatare takentoensure there are

accountability measures putin

place,”she said.

Thoughlegislative effortshave

failed,the Bidenadministration

says it has alreadyimplemented

someincremental changes. The

Justice Department hasprohibit-

ed theuse of chokeholdsand ca-

rotid restraints for federal officers

andrestricted the circumstances

where its agentscan use no-knock

warrants. Thedepartment has

also launched pattern-or-practice

investigationsintolaw enforce-

mentagencies, andlastmonth,

threeformer Minneapolispolice

officerswhowere at thescene

whenFloyd wasmurderedwere

found guiltyoffederal civil

rights offenses. Psaki added that

the administration continuesto

mull an executive order that

would concretizesomepolicere-

structuringmeasuresfloated in

failedlegislation.

“Defundthe police” becamea

rallying cryfor manyactivists in

2020astheycalledon citiesto

shiftfunding away frompolicing

andtoward socialprograms that

helpstruggling communities. Al-

thoughmanyactivists have clari-

fiedthattheyaren’tadvocatingfor

the immediate abolitionof all po-

lice,the slogangaveRepublicans

an opening to paintDemocrats

withawide, lawless brush.

AmisleadingDonaldTrumpad

in 2020featuredaudiofrom a

fictitious 911 call that is answered

by arecording. “Toreportarape,

please pressone.Toreportamur-

der,press two.”Asthe audio

played,the ad showedimages of

violent protests before flashing

the words: “You won’t be safein

JoeBiden’s America.”

CelindaLake, oneof Biden’s

leadpollstersinthe 2020election,

saidRepublicansare bringing up

defundthe police“everywhere.”

Trump’s campaign,for example,

spentatleast$6.7millionairing

the ad on network televisionin

battleground states, including

Florida,Georgia, Ohio, Arizona,

Wisconsinand Michigan.

Even as Bidenwasstill speak-

ing Tuesdaynight, theNational

RepublicanSenatorial Committee

tweetedanadthatfeaturedDem-

ocrats—manyofthempeopleof

color—speaking in supportof

reallocatingcashforpolicing.

Theads featureout-of-context

statements,and don’t fullyreflect

the views of the Democratsfea-

tured in them,but telling voters

thatDemocratssupportdefund-

ingthe police is an easyattackthat

can be difficult to defendagainst,

Lake said.

“It’sbecome avaluesattack

morethanasubstantiveattack.

It’s like calling [a Democrat]a

socialist,”she said.“It’sasubject

thatlendsitself to anine-second

attack, butnot anine-second re-

sponse....It’shardto saywhat

you’reforinnineseconds,because

it’s adding mentalhealthservices,

it’s retrainingpoliceand morepay

for better-qualitypolice.”

ForDemocrats, real-world

problemshaveamplifiedthe mes-

saging difficulties. Homicidesin-

creasedin somelargeDemocrat-

controlled cities. Philadelphia,for

example, sawarecord561 homi-

cides lastyear,aspasmof violence

thatput the cityatthe epicenterof

adebate about thefutureof polic-

ing as it tried to stem the killing

andrespondto callsfor police

restructuring.

Bidenand other Democrats

have longsaid thatitisbetterto

givepolicedepartmentsmoney

for trainingandothertoolsto

implement neededchanges in-

stead of stripping their funding.

“Thereis aneed for reform,but

reformcan’ttakehold withoutthe

tools toimplement it,”saidRep.

Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.), the former

chair of the Democratic Congres-

sional Campaign Committee

(DCCC), in astatement. “Too often

alack of resources andoverreli-

anceon lawenforcementto solve

socialserviceissues has led to a

loss oflivesand distrust in our

communities. Putsimply,inorder

to reform, we mustalso invest.”

In the nationwidediscussion,

White House aides sayBiden’s po-

sition is closelyaligned to thatof

NewYorkMayor Eric Adams(D),

whowonhisrace whilepromising

to crackdown on guncrimes,

bolster violence-preventionpro-

gramsandenhancecommunity

policing.Bidenmet withAdams,

whoisBlack,afterhewontheNew

York primary, andlastmonthat-

tended anti-gun-crime events

withhim—includingavisitto

NewYork Police Department

headquarters.

Lake,the pollster,said Bidenis

alsomorecloselyalignedwiththe

country —includingwithmany

Black voters whocareabout re-

moving troublesomepoliceoffi-

cersfromdepartments,but who

alsowantto be protected from

criminalsonthe streets.

Amiddecliningsupportfor re-

ducingpolicefunding,DCCCop-

erativestoldPoliticothatDemo-

cratsshouldworktocountereffec-

tiveGOP argumentsrooted in cul-

turewars, like“defundthe police,”

instead of ignoring the attacks.

Democrats, for example, should

stress their supportfor police.

Maurice Mitchell, asocial

movement strategistwiththe

Movementfor Black Livesand

nationaldirector of the Working

Families Party, saidmanyactivists

see the shiftingrhetoricand won-

der whatitmeansfor areal-world

debate aboutthe proper rolepo-

lice shouldplayinkeepingcom-

munities safe.

“Folksare concernedthatthe

intensityofthe post-GeorgeFloyd

momenthas subsided, and what’s

taken placeissortofabacklash,”

Mitchell said. “And thereare Dem-

ocratsthatareworriedaboutpick-

ing up voters thattheythinkoth-

erwisewould not be in play.”

Among them,he said, is Biden,

whohas gone outofhis wayto

showhis supportfor police.

Thepresidentwasthe keynote

speaker at the Fraternal Orderof

Police’s “Saluteto OurFallenHe-

roes”on the lawn of the U.S. Capi-

tol in October,anannual event

thatBiden saidhe hadattended

frequentlyoverhis career.

Bidenstressed his enduring

supportfor policeofficers and

their families.Hesaid cities could

use AmericanRescue Plan fund-

ing for policeand violence-inter-

ventionprograms, and he saidhis

requested budgetincludedan ad-

ditional$300million for commu-

nitypolicing.Healso pledged

more moneyfor mentalhealth

treatment.

“Therearegoingto be more

resources,not fewerresources,

helpingyoudoyour job,”hetold

theofficers and their families.

“That’swhy Iproposedwe invest

in —weinvestagainin communi-

ty policingwe knowworks.”

But Mitchell, the Movementfor

Black Livesstrategist, saidthat

those programsaren’t as proven

as Democratshavesuggested,and

thatDemocratsinpowerhaven’t

doneenoughtoroot out racismin

policedepartments.The pro-po-

lice stance,hebelieves, is basedon

fears of gettingbranded as be-

ing softoncrime,atried-and-true

Republicantactic thatgoes back

decades.

“I think some Democratsare

operating fromaplaceoffear and

are getting sucked up basedon

reliable Republican talking

points,”Mitchellsaid.“The Re-

publicanswillattempttoargue

thateverysingle Democrat run-

ningfor everysingleoffice, from

dogcatcherall the wayuptopresi-

dent, is an antifa socialist. ...So

the questionfor Democrats...is

whatisthe positivemessagethat

you are going to articulate around

howyou’regoingtomakesure

thatthe peoplein yourcommuni-

ty are safer? Andrunning away

from ‘defund the police’does

not takeyou closertothatgoal.

AndIthinkit’sactuallyapolitical

mistake.”

Biden makes midterm message clear:

‘Fund the police. Fund them.’

SomeRepublicansapplaudpresident’sproclamation,butmanyactivistsmournitsdeepermeaning

EVELYNHOCKSTEINFORTHE WASHINGTONPOST

Protestersrepaint“DefundthePolice”onBlackLivesMatterPlazain2020.Thephrasebecamearallyingcryformanyactiviststhatyear
astheycalledoncitiestoshiftfundingawayfrompolicingandtowardsocialprogramsthathelpstrugglingcommunities.

“The presidenthas been clear manytimes

that he believesthat we need to continueto ensure

policedepartmentshave the fundingthey need.”

Jen Psaki,WhiteHousepresssecretary

WEDDING

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