Waterford Today

Reps. Graham Filler (R-DeWitt) and Mike Mueller (R-Linden) said in a joint editorial on the Michigan House Republicans website that the idea of defunding the police as a response to the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis will only leave Michigan citizens at the hands of criminals.

“Failing to provide resources to local police departments will put Michigan families at risk,” the editorial stated.

The column said Floyd’s killing and that of Breonna Taylor and other African Americans is a sign of misconduct by officers that requires reform. However, they believe that without funding police, criminals would have free rein, knowing that no response would be made to their illegal activities and that calls for help would go unanswered. Crimes would go unsolved, Filler and Mueller say.

The representatives claim people who need protection would be victimized. They indicated that some of the protesters seem to be radicals attempting to hijack the Black Lives Matter movement for their own gain.

Filler and Mueller called the call for defunding police a “ridiculous idea” that must be rejected, according to Michigan House Republicans.

The pair said the overwhelming majority of local law enforcement officers are diligent and courageous people who risk their lives defending citizens, whether the situation involves a victim of sexual assault or domestic violence or if a store is being burglarized.

Defunding the police would also be disastrous economically for communities already reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic, as people wary of crime would be afraid to venture downtown to do shopping and tourists would stay away. Main Street could become deserted, the column says.

Instead, Filler and Mueller recommended what they hoped would be reforms to improve the law enforcement system. Both pledged to make sure that Michigan law enforcement officers have the funding to adequately protect communities and the training necessary to calm potentially explosive situations while improving community relations.