Former Seattle mayoral candidate says defunding police caused exodus of officers: ‘Experiment isn’t working’

The mass exodus of Seattle police officers due to the Defund the Police movement is wreaking havoc, former mayoral candidate Lance Randall argued on Thursday.

“It’s terrifying,” Randall told Fox & Friends.

Randall said the experiment of defusing the police to try to address the issue of police violence did not work. He argued that the city council’s decision to cut the police budget by 20% resulted in an increase in crime in Seattle.

“Police officers are leaving. Seattle people are less safe and there is chaos. So the experiment of using a broad brush across the entire police department just didn’t work,” he said.

He continued, “I think you need to focus on and address the officers, especially those who commit atrocities, while also supporting the officers who keep their oaths of protection and service throughout the department here in the city of Seattle caused a serious problem. “

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Nearly 150 officers split from the Seattle Police Department in 2021, with 335 officers departing since last year.

“The staffing of the SPD has exceeded the crisis level for a city the size of Seattle. But that didn’t stop a Seattle city council office from asking what a 50% budget cut would mean for the SPD, ”said Jason Rantz of KTTH.

“According to the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH, 129 officials officially resigned from the SPD this year. In the coming weeks, 20 more separations are due. “

Randall said fewer officials are “putting the public safety delivery system at risk” and residents are concerned.

“I’m very worried because, as you know, I almost became a victim of a gun attack in my neighborhood some time ago. The experiment doesn’t work.”

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Meanwhile, murders in major U.S. cities have increased 16% so far in 2021 compared to 2020, a new report shows.

According to an update by the Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ) on Thursday, there were 259 more murders reported in the first half of 2021 compared to the first half of 2020 and 548 more compared to the first half of 2019 in 29 major US cities.

The updated results of the study by CCJ, a non-partisan criminal justice policy organization, suggest an upward trend in violent crime that began in 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, although CCJ notes the increase in homicides between the first and second quarter of the year has slowed this year.

Fox News’ Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.

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