Back the Blue
By Sen. John Thune
Being a police officer isn’t just a job. It’s a calling. These are the people we call when there is a car accident, when someone is in trouble or in need, or when someone’s safety is at risk. These are the people who run toward danger and violence when the natural reaction for others is to run away from it. They have dedicated their lives to protecting our communities and keeping our friends, families, and neighbors safe.
We owe our men and women in law enforcement a great debt – a debt few can fully comprehend. They go out and risk their lives every day of the week, every minute of the day – through holidays and other family celebrations. And they bear a heavy physical and emotional burden. It’s tough to have to see such highs and lows on a daily basis – to spend years rescuing children who are in trouble or supporting victims of violence or bringing bad guys to justice. They confront these kinds of things so we don’t have to – and they pay a price. We owe them and their families our profound gratitude.
We can and we should be doing more to support law enforcement, from local South Dakota communities to the overwhelmed agents at the southern border and everywhere in between. Earlier this month, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, while testifying before Congress, said that morale in the Border Patrol is low, which shouldn’t come as any surprise. Shockingly, Secretary Mayorkas also said that there were more than 389,000 individuals the Border Patrol saw but was unable to apprehend at our southern border during fiscal year 2021. Our Border Patrol officers do heroic work, but they are stretched incredibly thin and have been for more than a year now. Criminals, including human traffickers, drug smugglers, and gang members, regularly attempt to cross our southern border, and when they do, it impacts local law enforcement in communities throughout the country. In essence, the border crisis turns every town in America into a border town.
One of the most important ways we can support law enforcement is with our words and with our actions. Unfortunately, Democrats have spent the last two years championing the “defund the police” movement and soft-on-crime policies, which have resulted in skyrocketing crime and murder rates, low morale among officers, and a record number of police being killed in the line of duty. I know most South Dakotans agree, but let me be perfectly clear: Defunding the police is a terrible idea. We need to fully fund law enforcement, support our police and other law enforcement officers, and back the blue.
I am so thankful to those in South Dakota law enforcement who have made our state such a safe place to live, work, and raise a family. Please know that you’re appreciated for all you do.
Every week, but especially during National Police Week, I want to recognize and express my sincere gratitude to the men and women who serve our communities and remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. Thank you for working every day to protect us, our children, and the cities and towns we call home.
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Another lazy weekly email from John reciting the tired national talking points. Sorry, but I think more people are realizing the importance of our constitutional rights, and the force fighting those constitutional rights are the “blue”. Let’s not forget, the reason we want a police SERVICE is to have the safety and help expected and noted in his message.
However, somewhere along the line we have had the focus changed to profit. Any chance for “the blue” to seize assets, they are, even though they have to report what they seize now (HB 1328), they can still take things without even charging you for a crime.
Try to protest, or hold government accountable who is the force that will try and tell you you can’t gather or film in public (1A)? Try to carry your firearm, who is the force that will try and get your ID and have your hands up until they run your ID because carrying a firearm is “suspicious” (2A). Who is pulling you over for going 2 miles over the speed limit to try and search your car and figure out a way to steal (asset forfeiture) your stuff (4A)?
Don’t give up your constitutional rights for the guise of “backing the blue”, they signed up for a job to provide a SERVICE for us. If this isn’t the service we want, it is okay to ask for a change. It doesn’t mean we hate the police or we are asking for a “defund the police” action, we just want a SERVICE, not an occupying force.
Agree with Tony but I also want to defund the police. Not completely, just by a lot.
Civil Forfeiture is legalized theft. End it now!