Thirteen months ago, Redwood City Councilmember Lissette Espinoza-Garnica voted against the city acquiring specialized police equipment out of a deep concern the equipment would be used against protesters. Does anyone remember demonstrations three years ago that resulted in 25 deaths and $1 billion to $2 billion in damage? I asked Lissette when did police roll out special equipment to quell those riots. There was no response … because it didn’t happen. This week, Lissette was the lone vote against Redwood City acquiring an armored rescue vehicle. According to Lissette, such vehicles are used against minority communities. No, Lissette, they’re used to keep those communities safe.      Â
In North Hollywood, a city about the size of Redwood City, two robbers with automatic weapons and specialized body armor attempted to rob a Bank of America branch. The botched robbery led to a gun fight that lasted nearly an hour. The police bravely faced superior firepower as the battle spilled over into a nearby neighborhood. The police used an armored vehicle to rescue injured officers and civilians. If they would not have done so, it is very likely some would have died. Â
Lisette. … I’m sure your constituents want their police officers to have immediate access to the equipment needed to counter serious threats jeopardizing their lives and the lives of their loved ones. I will ask again. Do you want to send police officers with inadequate equipment against criminals with superior firepower?
Ray: I certainly agree with you! But in line with that logical thinking, shouldn’t we also make sure that civilians don’t have access to assault weapons, so powerful that even police are afraid at times to challenge even a single, disoriented kid armed with such, like the massacre at Uvalde elementary school a year ago?
Thanks for your comment. The public is best served by equipping police officers with what they need to counter serious threats like an active shooter. Failing to do so for the reasons given at city council meetings does not serve the public's best interest, and could very well put the lives of some everyday folks in jeopardy.
There are about 20 million AR style firearms in the US. Keeping those weapons... or any weapons... out of the hands of those who would use them destructively is a critically important issue that should also be addressed. The question above is... who wants to send police officers with inadequate equipment against criminals with superior firepower? However, there is another question to be asked. Who wants to tell a police officer's family and friends that their loved one... who wears an officer's uniform... is never coming home because the officer was not properly equipped to protect the public?
Right you are, Ray, - frightening scenarios. No matter how much one twists the 2nd Amendment around and misinterprets it, there is absolutely no way that the Founding Fathers intended civilians to be armed for war, which at that time would be against the militia itself, which they intended to protect, for the common safety of all, the basic intention of that amendment.
I just disagree with those who politicize the issue re: whether our police should have the equipment they need to protect the public and themselves. I feel the same way about those who politicize gun violence.
You mentioned Uvalde in your earlier post. That mass shooting was a hideous crime that defies description. It's been almost a year since Uvalde native Matthew McConaughey gave an emotional speech at the White House calling for ways to promote responsible gun ownership. He did not politicize the issue, but spoke the words that were going through everyone's mind after the Robb Elementary School shooting... let's keep guns out of the hands of those who would use them destructively. Thanks again for your comments.
It's simple - the police need better weapons than criminals to protect us and themselves. Crime is up significantly in Democrat run cities due to a lack of policing and "catch and release" of violent criminals with long rap sheets for serious crimes. This only encourages other criminals to have less concern about being caught as happened in the early 1990's when Joe Biden signed on to longer sentences only to apologize for it when he ran for office.
I know you like to use your wide brush to paint Democrats in a bad color and your dislike for them shows in most of your comments. I will agree that a number of the larger cities are predominately Democratic and yes they have high crime rates. I would suggest that you step back from the trees so you can see the forest.
In more than one study by organizations such as the CDC, the Journal of the American Medical Association and the New England Journal of Medicine have found that the largest increase in violent crime and gun deaths occur in small town rural America. One study found that in the 20 years since 2000 the Trump voting states had a 12% higher mortality rate per 100,000 than the Biden voting states. In addition in the last election year, 2020, the Trump states were over 40% higher than the Biden states. The only blue state to make the top three during that time was Maryland from 2002 to 2007 and again in 2015. Mississippi and Louisiana controlled the top two spots almost exclusively for the entire 20 years.
Taffy, I like your effort at trying to generalize crime across states. But let’s take a look at the trees in our forest… Everyone knows that states have Democrat-controlled cities, and it is the crime statistics in those cities that are painting the rest of the state in a bad light, whether the state is red or blue. I’d recommend that for more relevant city-based statistics, you take a look at Major Cities Chiefs Association site and their quarterly MCCA crime reports that highlight violent crime from major agencies across the USA and Canada. You can quickly cross-reference those cities with cities controlled by Democrat mayors and you’ll see that rising crime rates occur predominantly in Democrat-run cities, ruining the rest of the state’s standing.
Before I comment on the MCCA I just want to add a tidbit to my comment above to clarify one item. As you could see I did agree that the Democratic cities do have a crime problem. The statistic that the Trump voting states had a 12% higher mortality was derived by taking the largest cities out of the calculation because they would skew the % higher if left in. Even with the largest cities out, New Orleans, LA and Jackson, MS, they were still the number one and two states for mortality over the 20 year period.
Thanks for your info on the MCCA. I did check and they just released their quarterly report for crime for the first quarter of 2023. I will include it below but the trend is less crime and being as you know that the largest cities are mostly Democratic the Dems are doing things right.
"In the United States as a whole, the statistics from 70 of 70 Responding Agencies are the following:
In 2023 the number of homicides was 1,908, as opposed to the first quarter number of homicides in 2022, which was 2,068. In the first three months of 2023, there were 7,540 rapes versus 8,233 in the first three months of 2022. There were 27,105 robberies in the first quarter of 2022 and 29,434 robberies in the first quarter of 2022. Aggravated assaults numbered 71,391 in the first quarter of 2023 as opposed to 73,413 in the first quarter of 2022. "
Taffy, my friend, I like your effort at providing data from selected trees, but let’s move out from your selected trees and more towards the forest… because your assertion that the Dems are doing things right doesn’t hold… If you review recent year-end MCCA reports, you’ll see that in 2021, homicides, rapes and aggravated assaults increased from 2020 numbers. In 2022, robberies and aggravated assaults increased from 2021. Basically, in those two years, increases across the board. Now are those increased numbers due to short-sighted defund the police movements? Perhaps the numbers you’re citing this first quarter reflect the movement to re-fund the police (we can only hope so) or maybe new major city leadership under Republican leaders? Or just statistical noise for the quarter? I hope all is well, or is getting better, with you.
Ray Fowler never fails to make great common sense points as well as easy to understand POV for people like Redwood City Councilmember Lissette Espinoza-Garnica - to contemplate, think over and then possibly change her own point of view, one that was skewed from the beginning concerning this particular topic.
one of the best movies i have seen it shows promises made to afganistan versus the arrival of us military to the rescue like the police arm them like the military as today's school s need to have the polie pacing and showing up just to be a deterrent
you arrive at a shooting and find the police with a vehicle to eliminate the gang activity a forethought the city planned to have in an emergency better to have it than wish you had it in the middle of a crisis. fire has a four wheel drive they bought around $250,000 for willld fire be prepared is worth all the i wish i had wishing you had planned it all. foresight is much more valuable than hindsight wish i had.
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO
personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who
make comments. Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. Don't threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Anyone violating these rules will be issued a
warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be
revoked.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
(16) comments
Ray: I certainly agree with you! But in line with that logical thinking, shouldn’t we also make sure that civilians don’t have access to assault weapons, so powerful that even police are afraid at times to challenge even a single, disoriented kid armed with such, like the massacre at Uvalde elementary school a year ago?
Hi, Jorg
Thanks for your comment. The public is best served by equipping police officers with what they need to counter serious threats like an active shooter. Failing to do so for the reasons given at city council meetings does not serve the public's best interest, and could very well put the lives of some everyday folks in jeopardy.
There are about 20 million AR style firearms in the US. Keeping those weapons... or any weapons... out of the hands of those who would use them destructively is a critically important issue that should also be addressed. The question above is... who wants to send police officers with inadequate equipment against criminals with superior firepower? However, there is another question to be asked. Who wants to tell a police officer's family and friends that their loved one... who wears an officer's uniform... is never coming home because the officer was not properly equipped to protect the public?
Right you are, Ray, - frightening scenarios. No matter how much one twists the 2nd Amendment around and misinterprets it, there is absolutely no way that the Founding Fathers intended civilians to be armed for war, which at that time would be against the militia itself, which they intended to protect, for the common safety of all, the basic intention of that amendment.
I just disagree with those who politicize the issue re: whether our police should have the equipment they need to protect the public and themselves. I feel the same way about those who politicize gun violence.
You mentioned Uvalde in your earlier post. That mass shooting was a hideous crime that defies description. It's been almost a year since Uvalde native Matthew McConaughey gave an emotional speech at the White House calling for ways to promote responsible gun ownership. He did not politicize the issue, but spoke the words that were going through everyone's mind after the Robb Elementary School shooting... let's keep guns out of the hands of those who would use them destructively. Thanks again for your comments.
It's simple - the police need better weapons than criminals to protect us and themselves. Crime is up significantly in Democrat run cities due to a lack of policing and "catch and release" of violent criminals with long rap sheets for serious crimes. This only encourages other criminals to have less concern about being caught as happened in the early 1990's when Joe Biden signed on to longer sentences only to apologize for it when he ran for office.
Mr. Kahl,
I know you like to use your wide brush to paint Democrats in a bad color and your dislike for them shows in most of your comments. I will agree that a number of the larger cities are predominately Democratic and yes they have high crime rates. I would suggest that you step back from the trees so you can see the forest.
In more than one study by organizations such as the CDC, the Journal of the American Medical Association and the New England Journal of Medicine have found that the largest increase in violent crime and gun deaths occur in small town rural America. One study found that in the 20 years since 2000 the Trump voting states had a 12% higher mortality rate per 100,000 than the Biden voting states. In addition in the last election year, 2020, the Trump states were over 40% higher than the Biden states. The only blue state to make the top three during that time was Maryland from 2002 to 2007 and again in 2015. Mississippi and Louisiana controlled the top two spots almost exclusively for the entire 20 years.
Tafhdyl: I don’t think Mr. Kahl is all that much into uncomfortable facts, or percentages and other high-level math for that matter.
Oooops, Tafhdyd! Sorry about that: T for D and T for 2! My 2nd mistake in less than a week.
Taffy, I like your effort at trying to generalize crime across states. But let’s take a look at the trees in our forest… Everyone knows that states have Democrat-controlled cities, and it is the crime statistics in those cities that are painting the rest of the state in a bad light, whether the state is red or blue. I’d recommend that for more relevant city-based statistics, you take a look at Major Cities Chiefs Association site and their quarterly MCCA crime reports that highlight violent crime from major agencies across the USA and Canada. You can quickly cross-reference those cities with cities controlled by Democrat mayors and you’ll see that rising crime rates occur predominantly in Democrat-run cities, ruining the rest of the state’s standing.
Terence,
Before I comment on the MCCA I just want to add a tidbit to my comment above to clarify one item. As you could see I did agree that the Democratic cities do have a crime problem. The statistic that the Trump voting states had a 12% higher mortality was derived by taking the largest cities out of the calculation because they would skew the % higher if left in. Even with the largest cities out, New Orleans, LA and Jackson, MS, they were still the number one and two states for mortality over the 20 year period.
Thanks for your info on the MCCA. I did check and they just released their quarterly report for crime for the first quarter of 2023. I will include it below but the trend is less crime and being as you know that the largest cities are mostly Democratic the Dems are doing things right.
"In the United States as a whole, the statistics from 70 of 70 Responding Agencies are the following:
In 2023 the number of homicides was 1,908, as opposed to the first quarter number of homicides in 2022, which was 2,068. In the first three months of 2023, there were 7,540 rapes versus 8,233 in the first three months of 2022. There were 27,105 robberies in the first quarter of 2022 and 29,434 robberies in the first quarter of 2022. Aggravated assaults numbered 71,391 in the first quarter of 2023 as opposed to 73,413 in the first quarter of 2022. "
Taffy, my friend, I like your effort at providing data from selected trees, but let’s move out from your selected trees and more towards the forest… because your assertion that the Dems are doing things right doesn’t hold… If you review recent year-end MCCA reports, you’ll see that in 2021, homicides, rapes and aggravated assaults increased from 2020 numbers. In 2022, robberies and aggravated assaults increased from 2021. Basically, in those two years, increases across the board. Now are those increased numbers due to short-sighted defund the police movements? Perhaps the numbers you’re citing this first quarter reflect the movement to re-fund the police (we can only hope so) or maybe new major city leadership under Republican leaders? Or just statistical noise for the quarter? I hope all is well, or is getting better, with you.
Ray,
The police should always have equal or better equipment than the criminals. It should not be a topic for discussion, it should be done.
Wow... you're up early! Thank you very much, Tafhdyd. Your are absolutely correct, and the issue should not be politicized.
Ray Fowler never fails to make great common sense points as well as easy to understand POV for people like Redwood City Councilmember Lissette Espinoza-Garnica - to contemplate, think over and then possibly change her own point of view, one that was skewed from the beginning concerning this particular topic.
one of the best movies i have seen it shows promises made to afganistan versus the arrival of us military to the rescue like the police arm them like the military as today's school s need to have the polie pacing and showing up just to be a deterrent
you arrive at a shooting and find the police with a vehicle to eliminate the gang activity a forethought the city planned to have in an emergency better to have it than wish you had it in the middle of a crisis. fire has a four wheel drive they bought around $250,000 for willld fire be prepared is worth all the i wish i had wishing you had planned it all. foresight is much more valuable than hindsight wish i had.
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.