Fox News commentator Dan Bongino said calls to defund the police are “the single most catastrophic, deadly public policy decision we’ve seen in the modern history of the United States.”
“Make absolutely no mistake about it. People will die. Real people. Not Hollywood nonsense. Not movie types. Real people, kids, teenagers, and adults will die,” Bongino, a former New York police officer and Secret Service agent told “Fox & Friends” on Monday.
“Think about the continuum from low-level property crime to murderers and terrorists. The message that sends to all of them,” he said.
Calls to defund police departments across the country have been growing since the death of George Floyd, who was killed in police custody after an officer pinned Floyd to the ground with his knee on Floyd’s neck. The officer now faces second-degree murder charges. Three other officers at the scene were also charged with aiding and abetting murder.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey was booed out of a Minneapolis protest on Saturday after he said he did not support abolishing police in response to a question about whether he’d back defunding the local police,
Several Democratic lawmakers have called for governments to at a minimum look into defunding local police.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) tweeted that elected officials should work to defund over-funded police departments.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) said the defund police movement should not be brushed aside.
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) said the Minneapolis Police Department should be disbanded.
A recent YouGov poll released earlier this month showed just 16 percent of Democrats and 15 percent of Republicans surveyed support cutting police funding.