Velshi: ‘Defunding The Police’ Isn’t As Radical As You Think | MSNBC

MSNBC’s Ali Velshi says reallocating resources from police departments to social services would prevent the unnecessary use of deadly force.» Subscribe to MSNBC:

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Velshi: ‘Defunding The Police’ Isn’t As Radical As You Think | MSNBC

69 comments

  1. Repeatedly explaining simple concepts to folks who should have at minimum a HIGH School Education, just BLOWS MY MIND!

    1. Education doesn’t always translate to intelligent understanding, Trump family is a good example.

    2. Do me a favor and go to a website called Best Gore dot com….watch about 8 hours of Cartel dismemberment and decapitations in Mexico and South America where strong policing is nonexistent and let me know how we don’t need the police after…after that, go read a book or 2 on how Democracy works, the US is not angry mob tyranny, the other citizens that pay their taxes have a say…put it to a vote

    3. And also repeatedly explaining to blacks to comply and not grab their tasers and fight them during an arrest JUST BLOWS MY MIND!!!!!!!!

  2. What you suggest sounds reasonable and progressive. We need police, but we don’t need bullies in police uniforms. It is long past the time when police and ordinary citizens should have a different way to communicate.

    1. @janeen harris I agree. A good starting point would be more training. In Europe police training takes on average 3-4 years. In the USA 13-19 weeks followed by a few months on the job training.
      With more training police officers are better equipped to deal with the many different situations they encounter. A lot of emphasis is put on de-escalation techniques. There are ways to turn around a dangerous situation without pulling a gun or shooting someone. Even when the suspect is armed.
      There are even countries where police officers are unarmed most of the time.

    2. @R vdB, 13-19 weeks training followed by a few months on the job training really only qualifies them to be unskilled workers. Not very impressive for someone who counts a loaded gun as a tool of trade. American policing simply boggles the mind for those of us overseas. Our police can also over police minority groups, but they’d never get away with shooting them down for a simple resisting arrest and running away. They had his car, so knew his address. They could have just picked him up in the morning.

    3. @janeen harris our police also doesn’t get away with shooting at suspects. Our police officers use their gun so rarely that it makes national news if one of them fires warning shots, let alone if he/she injures or kills a suspect. And every use of a firearm is investigated by a special division. Use of firearm is really seen as a last resort.

    4. @R vdB, same here. I think we had 4 people shot by police last year. You can be sure all were thoroughly investigated to.

  3. If you took away misdemeanors and low level drug possession charges, the police could focus on the 60% of violent crimes they never solve.

    1. Roshan vermezyari go talk to all of the family members of DUI victims slaughtered in their cars while innocently driving then come back after, let me know how it goes

    2. @David Hale Getting away with petty crimes encourages criminals to dream bigger. This is a hallmark of humanity. Evil doers get away with as much evil as their tribe or society allows.

    3. Democrats have controlled black killing cities for last 100 years. Why do you vote for them?

    1. @r mac Not without accountability, and that’s what most of the unions stand up for, if the reports of the incidents are “falsified” the respect the police demands/earn goes right out the window. So many citations for so many officers is just not acceptable. Its a mockery of the profession, and a travesty of the Oath they swore to uphold.

  4. It also means RESCUING the good cops from the crony criminals embedded in their midst.
    Save a good cop! Fire the jerks so that they are safer! ( one point though, Ali- domestic disturbances are factually the most dangerous function of a cop- where they are most at risk, statistically.)

    1. Could you point to a source about cops in domestic disputes? I’m not arguing with you, just interested in learning more!

  5. I think there should be more funding the police. The whole department needs to get reformed. Cops should be trained at least 300+ hours and with a competitive high salary like the fire department.

    1. Just Saying $60000 as a base salary is not bad considering America supposedly has one of the strongest economies and currencies – Just Saying.

    2. @Roshan vermezyari: $60.000 base salary for a job that doesn’t require any education at all? That sounds extremely good to me.

    3. @Jo-Erlend Schinstad Sadly I have to agree with you. After these events they should look into some sort of basic education post high school.

      I don’t think school will teach you common sense but the way things are heading it couldn’t hurt either.

      I don’t want to come off as pompous or elitist but the saying holds true “you can’t teach sense to a common person.”

    4. @Roshan vermezyari: Actually, you can teach just about anyone how to think properly. Thinking is a skill like any other. Personally, I believe that the most fun and productive way to teach people how to think, is teaching them imperative programming. The computer does what it’s told, so you have to do all the thinking and you have to do it in advance. Things you haven’t thought of, makes the program crash, so intellectual laziness is punished. It really teaches you to think about all the facts and all the options. Chess and other logical games are also very useful and should be used in school. First, teach the children how to think and then teach them information.

    5. @Jo-Erlend Schinstad You may be very right but I doubt that the government is looking for thinkers/scholars when they decide to hire police.

      I would think they are looking for the opposite so that they can mould them to be like robots and do first and think later.

      At least thats the way they seem to be programmed/wired.

  6. I see from the comments that a very vocal subset of our populace doesn’t like the idea of change at all. Progress requires change.

  7. Wow, average American police has less than ten hours of education on mediation and conflict management? That explains a lot.

    1. Exactly. The best way to solve that is to cut their funding so they can’t afford even that. It’s just basic logic.

    2. @BTIsaac: Education is a different subject. Nobody’s talking about defunding education, are they? America should really invest much more in education and not just police education.

    3. @Jo-Erlend Schinstad …but that is not what the left are calling for. they want to see the police defunded and abolished.

  8. Lots of people don’t like the sound of defunding, but the more I’ve listened to the idea the better I like it.

    1. How about quit calling the cops at all why not handle shttt on your own crybabies END OF STORY!!!

    2. Go hang out in Mexico or anywhere in South America where the police don’t exist for about a month, when Cartels and gangs infiltrate these city’s and set up shop then what?…the trouble is, these idiots don’t have an answer as to what will happen if it doesn’t work? Just knee jerk reactions…if it doesn’t work, it will be very difficult to reverse the damage….Cartels in South America take advantage of lawlessness…the locals are hostages and beheaded, dismembered if they don’t comply or gunned down violently on a daily basis…besides that the other taxpayers have a say so, not just left wing mobs.

  9. Remember tv shows and movies like “Smokie and the Bandit, Dukes of Hazzard and Chips?” The entire premise was cops chasing people and no one managed to get shot. Force will be necessary in policing but for lethal force to be justified the threat must be imminent.

    1. Don’t forget “Cops” the reality show. The entire premise was intoxicated adults being safely apprehended by police without gunshots.

    1. @Eli Dicken its hard to find 100% objective news, best to sample both sides and decipher for yourself.

    1. @Brian C ……the Jackals sinks back into the Darkness when the LIGHT of Justice comes out to protect the US People.

    2. @Shawn Corbin Yeah man, that 160 year old history is really “smashing” the democratic party “right now.” Meanwhile all of MLK’s disciples who went into politics decided to carry on his work in the Democratic party, and they’re all relentlessly attacked by white supremacists in the Republican party. But yeah, you get points for valuing history, I guess, even if you sound slightly deranged.

    1. @bcknight727 social services, infrastructure, etc. Anything you’re passionate about that feel is underfunded, enter [here].

    2. BlackLiesMatter are not asking for funds to be reallocated – they want to see the police completely abolished

  10. 10 hours of training in dealing with various potentially deadly situations is WOEFULLY inadequate

  11. The ones fighting the concept and trying not to learn more about it are just the bigots who don’t want things to change

  12. Here’s a thought, rather than having the police, policed by other police, have the police regulated by an outside body instead.

    The same goes for the US government, when someone inside the US government does something, if they get investigated, it’s by other government officials, including those in their own party, just look at Trump’s impeachment, where he was let off because Republican senators were ok with what he did. Letting groups self regulate doesn’t work, and since it doesn’t work, people in those groups get bolder, and feel they can get away with anything, because generally speaking, they can, so their conduct just gets worse. If you want to stop that, stop letting them self regulate.

  13. Msnbc have to repeat there selfs because people r seeing fox news and they believe every word that fox new say god help us some people r stupid

  14. The sound bite “ defund Police” is a lousy one. We can do better than that. You can explain all you want but that turn is not helpful.

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