The National Fraternal Order of Police this week blamed the deaths of at least 12 police officers since Monday on "the spewing of anti-police rhetoric by some political and media figures" and the "failed policies or rogue prosecutors and judges," but former New York City Police Commissioner Bernie Kerik told Newsmax that there is more to it than that.
"I agree with the FOP, but I would add to that, It's not just the rogue policies of the prosecutors and the judges," Kerik said on Newsmax's "Saturday Report."
"It's the rogue policies of the governors, the mayors, and the city council members."
They have called for defunding the police, and some governors have left bail reform laws in place that are "emboldening the bad guys," he added.
As a result, people who break the law are being released, which is taking away judges' discretion on what will be done with them when they're brought in for initial charges, said Kerik.
"These are all things that could easily be changed by governors in these states where you see major surges in violent crime and murder, and yet they're doing nothing about it," said Kerik.
Meanwhile, the numbers are clear that crime and attacks on police are escalating, so "there's clearly a correlation."
He also blamed part of the problem on politicians, singling out Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., for her support of Black Lives Matter, which he compared to organizations that have called for the assassination of police officers.
"She has no business being in Congress," said Kerik. "The bottom line is as long as you have people like that in government, they're irresponsible. They're dangerous. They're terrible for communities and for the country. They should be voted out of office."
Kerik also said Saturday that the restrictions that have been made about how police officers do their jobs are causing them to become fearful about doing their jobs.
In a recent case in New York, two officers were in a situation while trying to make an arrest, with the first officer being beaten by a suspect while the second police officer grabbed the suspect by his legs, not his neck, out of fear of violating chokehold laws.
"When I saw the video, I was disgusted," Kerik said. "I would have suspended that second cop. And went for termination. He has no business being on the job. They're afraid to do their job. Quit. Go somewhere else. Go to the sanitation department. Go to the transportation department. Don't stay in the police department because you're going to get somebody killed or you're going to get yourself killed."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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