Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser — a supporter of the anti-cop Black Lives Matter movement — has reversed course following a terrifying crime wave ignited by George Floyd-era “police reforms” that incentivized mass lawlessness.
On Monday, the Democrat introduced legislation to empower police and combat organized retail theft amid soaring crime festering in the nation’s capital.
“Today, I announced new legislation that will address recent crime trends and give law enforcement more tools to hold criminals accountable and keep neighborhoods safe,” the mayor said in a letter to Washingtonians.
“The Addressing Crime Trends Now Act (ACT Now) will create an environment that better supports communities and victims and better supports the Metropolitan Police Department’s (MPD) ability to hire and retain highly qualified officers,” she wrote.
“We know, for example, that the criminal behavior directed at our business community, particularly our retailers, is unacceptable,” Bowser said. “And people in our city are sick and tired of it.
“People want great businesses in their neighborhoods. We go to stores and restaurants, and we don’t want to worry about those businesses getting robbed repeatedly and brazenly.”
ACT Now specifically targets the epidemic of organized retail theft that has surged in Washington and other Democrat-run cities. The result has been catastrophic for local businesses and communities — and they appear to have had more than enough of it.
“This legislation reflects what our community is telling us: you want appropriate accountability for those who choose to commit crimes and inflict fear in our neighborhoods,” she said in the letter.
“[W]e must have a policy environment that supports appropriate accountability,” Bowser wrote. “But we need to act now, and we need to send a strong message that violence is not acceptable in DC.”
The Addressing Crime Trends Now Act will create an environment that better supports communities and victims as well as MPD’s ability to hire and retain highly qualified officers.
These are common-sense updates to address crime trends in our community. pic.twitter.com/M1SBmbeU0E
— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) October 23, 2023
Among the changes ACT Now institutes are the following:
• Imposes criminal penalties for recruiting mobs to commit organized retail theft.
• Makes it illegal to wear a mask to commit robberies, assaults or carjackings.
• Reinstates the police department’s ability to stamp out open-air drug markets.
Notably, the legislation also eases overly restrictive restraints on the use of police force.
These irrational limits were promulgated in response to nationwide BLM riots following the May 2020 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody.
At the time, the left-wing narrative — rabidly pushed by Democrats and their media lapdogs — was that a “racist” white cop had “murdered” a black man during an arrest by kneeling on his neck.
Three years later, a report last week from Alpha News in Minnesota added credence to what many conservatives have believed all along: Floyd — a recidivist criminal and drug addict — did not die from asphyxia or strangulation but from complications of a fentanyl overdose.
Ep. 32 You’ll be shocked to learn this, but it turns out the whole George Floyd story was a lie. pic.twitter.com/4vDXBStHf5
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) October 20, 2023
The BLM riots resulted in sweeping changes to law enforcement that incentivized more crime, including:
• Nationwide police pullbacks.
• Unreasonable restraints on law enforcement’s ability to pursue criminals.
• Soft-on-crime policies such as no-bail laws and the decriminalization of theft.
So now, Bowser — once a fierce proponent of BLM’s “defund the police” hysteria — is trying to re-empower law enforcement so officers can apprehend criminals in crime-infested D.C.
Do you believe the establishment’s narrative about George Floyd?
Yes: 0% (0 Votes)
No: 100% (2 Votes)
Accordingly, the ACT Now law:
• Clarifies the distinction between the serious use of force and incidental contact with the neck.
• Lets cops review their body cameras before writing their initial police reports.
• Defines what information can be posted publicly related to officer discipline.
#ACTNowDC ensures we have a policy environment that supports our police officers and allows them to protect our community and make DC safer.
Washington, DC is proud to be a leader in forward-thinking reforms and proud to support @DCPoliceDept. pic.twitter.com/KvlmJ2O54l
— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) October 23, 2023
The legislation now goes to the D.C. Council, where it is expected to face “scrutiny,” according to The Washington Post.
It is a tragic reflection of the dark times we live in when citizens have to be grateful that elected officials uphold the law and prioritize their safety over the well-being of criminals.
So while it’s nice that anti-police activists such as Bowser are finally waking up from their stupor, why did it have to occur after public safety was cavalierly sacrificed on the altar of toxic, race-hustling political correctness?
