County Commissioner Ziegler: EFFORT TO “REDIRECT LAW ENFORCEMENT FUNDING” (CODE WORD FOR DEFUND THE POLICE) IS BEGINNING IN SARASOTA COUNTY
Christian Ziegler
Instead of sending law enforcement to a dangerous situation, some in our community are calling to REDIRECT EXISTING LAW ENFORCEMENT FUNDING for a team of 2 – A medic & a Mental Health Counselor – to show up to potentially dangerous calls, rather than having law enforcement show up first and clear any threats that may be there.
Let me be very clear here –> This is NOT happening in Sarasota County as long as I am a County Commissioner. I will fight hard against this.
Law Enforcement MUST be the first responder to a threatening situation.
Law Enforcement must evaluate the situation and potential threats. Then, once the scene and threats are secure, I have no problem with law enforcement making a referral to additional services for the victim/suspect that they believe are appropriate for the situation.
Having a medic + mental health counselor show up to an unknown situation unarmed will literally get someone killed.
Do you know how many 911 calls start with a calm 911 call only to turn into a knife or gun to their responders face when they get there?
That’s exactly why every officer engaging in a simple traffic stop approaches slowly and attempts (as best they can) to approach out of clear view of the driver.
You just never know what you are approaching and there is NO WAY I am putting a Medic or Mental Health Counselor in harms way by not having an officer come in and clear the situation first.
I won’t pretend to know what it’s like being a member of law enforcement, but I did spend 3 years in high school focused on hands-on Criminal Justice. I then followed that up by getting a degree in Criminology at one of the top programs in the country. My sister is also a cop and every couple days, I hear first-hand about some of the wild calls.
https://www.heraldtribune.com/…/seidman-law-enforcement-wro…