Seattle police Chief Carmen Best announced her retirement following the city council’s decision to cut the police department budget by 14 percent. According to this report, the cuts would have had little effect on Best’s salary, but will reduce the salary of the 12 non-union sworn officers on her command staff.
More importantly, the cuts will reduce the number of regular police officers in Seattle. Up to 100 jobs might be lost through layoffs and attrition. Actually, I think we can expect a larger exodus of police officers, given the city council’s lack of support. Carmen Best can’t be the only member of the force who will look for more hospitable employment.
In other words, Antifa and BLM have won. Residents of the city of Seattle have lost.
Even Seattle’s left-wing mayor understands this. Jenny Durkan called the cuts “infuriating and deeply disappointing.” She noted that the council did not cut the salary of any other municipal department head or its own staff.
Why should it have? This isn’t about the budget, it’s about far left ideology and catering to the mob. Only those who protect the city against criminals are the target.
Best was the first Black woman to lead the Seattle Police Department. She served the force for 28 years. I think she has a better understanding of how to protect Black lives than do the mostly White members of the mob that marched on her house and is demanding police defunding.
I should also note that the 14 percent budget cut is unlikely to pacify the “defund” mob. There will be plenty of bang (shootings) for the non-bucks, but the mob won’t be happy until the police force is off the streets entirely.
In the email announcing her retirement, Best said:
This was a difficult decision for me, but when it’s time, it’s time. I want to thank Mayor Durkan for her continuous support through good times and tough times.
I am confident the department will make it through these difficult times. You truly are the best police department in the country and please trust me when I say the vast majority of people in Seattle support you and appreciate you.
I’m pretty sure she’s right about the support and appreciation of the vast majority of Seattle residents for the police. I question whether she’s right about Seattle making it successfully through these difficult times.
