Your piece just hit my soul. I was a 25 year cop. In this moment, I just realized I’ve completed my evolution. I’m now the equivalent of the war veteran who becomes anti-war. I’m a veteran cop who is now anti-policing. It’s not bad apples, it’s the entire diseased orchard. The policing system must be dismantled and replaced.
Instead of reforms and less violence, we now have aggressive policing federalized and on steroids.
This disgusting ICE budget will soon envelop our entire criminal justice system and merge with the military. It’s already happening. Every word you say is true.
Interesting timing because just yesterday there was a protest outside city hall here in Memphis about the Tyre Nichols murder because they claim the city (run largely by Democrats, black Democrats at that) is dragging their feet in the civil case. You'd think a horrible instance like that, which made national news, would be a good starting point for change. But there was very little accountability and their budget hasn't changed.
Defunding is certainly a necessary change but damn, even in places where you might think it could gain some traction it's been an uphill battle. In a city ravaged by poverty and violence we're run by Democrats who think letting Musk pollute the city with his AI monstrosity or giving another tax break to FedEx will be that one magical thing to fix it all. Gotta make them see that having almost half the city budget being for police only makes the rest of the problems worse.
Sometimes I just stop and think about how US cop culture came from slave patrols. The injustice is so fundamental to the core of these institutions, and it feels like a total cultural transformation is the only viable solution.
My city has spent $242,000,000 this year and just approved $246,000,000 for the metro police department.
The entire budget for the city in 2024/25 was $1.1 billion.
The entire budget for 2025/26 was $1.2 billion dollars.
Both budgets also allotted hundreds of thousands of additional dollars to nebulous "public safety " issues, most of which end up in the hands of some law enforcement agency, if not the police.
They give a pittance to a program sending trained volunteers to certain types of 911 calls rather than police but the program is NOT large enough and they aren't funding it enough.
And of course the city/the police department still haven't been able to replace the insurance that used to pay off lawsuits filed against them that they lost (which they invariably lose) so our tax dollars have to pay these as well and they're not going to stop getting sued.
I was optimistic about the consent decree but the mayor waited (I think intentionally, even though he's a Democrat) and allowed the police department and FOP to drag out their agreement with the consent decree process until after the election, but before the DOJ said they would no longer continue investigations or enforce consent decrees. So we have something, but it's not the same as a consent decree in my understanding, for all that they claimed it would be. Since then I've heard nothing about it. The newer budget was just released earlier this summer, you'd think they'd make a statement before telling us they're cutting buses and libraries to pay for more police shit. It's fucking egregious.
I can't find the most recent numbers but our murder rate is higher than average (although about what you'd expect for a heavily armed Metropolitan area that's overpoliced in a red state in the largest blue city)
People here need services, their kids need tutors, we need affordable childcare, but all we get are more guns for shitty cops.
The Floyd case did show that the circumstances involving only one police-involved murder can lead to social revolt. In the likely event this happens again, there are some people who will not let it stand.
I mean I'm in Louisville and there was a massive public response to Breonna Taylor's death along a similar time frame. There is not widespread support for this increased funding but it's happening nonetheless.
Using the slogan of defund the police is problematic. Instead using words like reimagine the police. I know from personal experience how police are incapable of deescalating situations, and how hard it is to have police show up and do the job of protecting us. The first was in Florida when I was 19 and a neighbor high on angle dust came over and assaulted me. She spread oil all over the floor and lunged at me. She pulled out a ton of my hair and I had several bites on my arm. When the police showed up she admitted she assaulted me, but they did nothing more than telling me to avoid contact with her. The next time, also in FL, a roommate attacked me when I asked when she planned on paying 3 months of back rent. She threw a glass at my eye and punched me in the face. I called 911 while she was still assaulting me. I had a black eye and several shards of glass on my face. I did get them to arrest her, she was only charged with simple assault. I was told they couldn’t do more without an eye witness. So she spent less than 24 hours before she was released on bail. If I had made several calls to 911 over a few months I was told by my advocate that maybe, but not absolutely, have been charged with assault which would come with bigger charges and involve actual jail time. And once again I was told to avoid contact with her and file for a restraining order. Because of the charges I was forced to go to court and face her instead of being issued a restraining order without having to go to court. Than when I moved back to NYC I was going through a really bad time in my life. My brother had been living in the Philippines when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. I spent about twice as much time in the Philippines than I did at home. Then a year later my service dog, who was my lifeline, passed away.I had been prescribed a anti depressant that made me even worse, not to mention I became agoraphobic and was suffering from a deep depression, uncontrollable tremors that were actually visible and suicidal ideations though I never even attempted it. When I called my doctor I was told to come in and he upped the dosage. At the time I wasn’t aware the symptoms were caused by a drug interaction. I finally called a mental health hotline, not a suicide hotline, and the police showed up anyway, and no social worker with them. They called an ambulance after searching my apartment and putting me in restraints. I was then forced to be admitted to a physic ward for almost a week. They kept me in a room that might as well been a jail cell with thick glass instead of bars. Once I was admitted, they actually kept me on the medication, though a psychiatrist should be aware of the side effects. The point being that police are just not equipped to handle these situations. They aren’t trained for it.
There have been some efforts to have mental health professionals handle some 911 calls on some places. It’s worked better, but there’s little interest in fully funding it in general.
Your piece just hit my soul. I was a 25 year cop. In this moment, I just realized I’ve completed my evolution. I’m now the equivalent of the war veteran who becomes anti-war. I’m a veteran cop who is now anti-policing. It’s not bad apples, it’s the entire diseased orchard. The policing system must be dismantled and replaced.
Instead of reforms and less violence, we now have aggressive policing federalized and on steroids.
This disgusting ICE budget will soon envelop our entire criminal justice system and merge with the military. It’s already happening. Every word you say is true.
It makes my soul feel better to read this. Thank you.
Interesting timing because just yesterday there was a protest outside city hall here in Memphis about the Tyre Nichols murder because they claim the city (run largely by Democrats, black Democrats at that) is dragging their feet in the civil case. You'd think a horrible instance like that, which made national news, would be a good starting point for change. But there was very little accountability and their budget hasn't changed.
Defunding is certainly a necessary change but damn, even in places where you might think it could gain some traction it's been an uphill battle. In a city ravaged by poverty and violence we're run by Democrats who think letting Musk pollute the city with his AI monstrosity or giving another tax break to FedEx will be that one magical thing to fix it all. Gotta make them see that having almost half the city budget being for police only makes the rest of the problems worse.
Sometimes I just stop and think about how US cop culture came from slave patrols. The injustice is so fundamental to the core of these institutions, and it feels like a total cultural transformation is the only viable solution.
Just so totally with you on this
My city has spent $242,000,000 this year and just approved $246,000,000 for the metro police department.
The entire budget for the city in 2024/25 was $1.1 billion.
The entire budget for 2025/26 was $1.2 billion dollars.
Both budgets also allotted hundreds of thousands of additional dollars to nebulous "public safety " issues, most of which end up in the hands of some law enforcement agency, if not the police.
They give a pittance to a program sending trained volunteers to certain types of 911 calls rather than police but the program is NOT large enough and they aren't funding it enough.
And of course the city/the police department still haven't been able to replace the insurance that used to pay off lawsuits filed against them that they lost (which they invariably lose) so our tax dollars have to pay these as well and they're not going to stop getting sued.
I was optimistic about the consent decree but the mayor waited (I think intentionally, even though he's a Democrat) and allowed the police department and FOP to drag out their agreement with the consent decree process until after the election, but before the DOJ said they would no longer continue investigations or enforce consent decrees. So we have something, but it's not the same as a consent decree in my understanding, for all that they claimed it would be. Since then I've heard nothing about it. The newer budget was just released earlier this summer, you'd think they'd make a statement before telling us they're cutting buses and libraries to pay for more police shit. It's fucking egregious.
I can't find the most recent numbers but our murder rate is higher than average (although about what you'd expect for a heavily armed Metropolitan area that's overpoliced in a red state in the largest blue city)
People here need services, their kids need tutors, we need affordable childcare, but all we get are more guns for shitty cops.
The Floyd case did show that the circumstances involving only one police-involved murder can lead to social revolt. In the likely event this happens again, there are some people who will not let it stand.
I mean I'm in Louisville and there was a massive public response to Breonna Taylor's death along a similar time frame. There is not widespread support for this increased funding but it's happening nonetheless.
So today the only cop facing any charges in Breonna Taylor's death got a sentence of a day and $100.
Using the slogan of defund the police is problematic. Instead using words like reimagine the police. I know from personal experience how police are incapable of deescalating situations, and how hard it is to have police show up and do the job of protecting us. The first was in Florida when I was 19 and a neighbor high on angle dust came over and assaulted me. She spread oil all over the floor and lunged at me. She pulled out a ton of my hair and I had several bites on my arm. When the police showed up she admitted she assaulted me, but they did nothing more than telling me to avoid contact with her. The next time, also in FL, a roommate attacked me when I asked when she planned on paying 3 months of back rent. She threw a glass at my eye and punched me in the face. I called 911 while she was still assaulting me. I had a black eye and several shards of glass on my face. I did get them to arrest her, she was only charged with simple assault. I was told they couldn’t do more without an eye witness. So she spent less than 24 hours before she was released on bail. If I had made several calls to 911 over a few months I was told by my advocate that maybe, but not absolutely, have been charged with assault which would come with bigger charges and involve actual jail time. And once again I was told to avoid contact with her and file for a restraining order. Because of the charges I was forced to go to court and face her instead of being issued a restraining order without having to go to court. Than when I moved back to NYC I was going through a really bad time in my life. My brother had been living in the Philippines when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. I spent about twice as much time in the Philippines than I did at home. Then a year later my service dog, who was my lifeline, passed away.I had been prescribed a anti depressant that made me even worse, not to mention I became agoraphobic and was suffering from a deep depression, uncontrollable tremors that were actually visible and suicidal ideations though I never even attempted it. When I called my doctor I was told to come in and he upped the dosage. At the time I wasn’t aware the symptoms were caused by a drug interaction. I finally called a mental health hotline, not a suicide hotline, and the police showed up anyway, and no social worker with them. They called an ambulance after searching my apartment and putting me in restraints. I was then forced to be admitted to a physic ward for almost a week. They kept me in a room that might as well been a jail cell with thick glass instead of bars. Once I was admitted, they actually kept me on the medication, though a psychiatrist should be aware of the side effects. The point being that police are just not equipped to handle these situations. They aren’t trained for it.
That all sounds horrible.
There have been some efforts to have mental health professionals handle some 911 calls on some places. It’s worked better, but there’s little interest in fully funding it in general.
We need to stop calling obstructionist collaborators “moderates.”
The 20th Century is almost over!
https://www.lpm.org/news/2025-07-17/trump-doj-recommends-one-day-sentence-for-lmpd-officer-from-breonna-taylor-raid