This is a classic example of reaping what you sow.
If you vote for defunding the police, guess what, chances are crime is going to increase.
And some of that crime may possibly affect you.
Atlanta councilman, Antonio Brown learned that that the hard way this week.
According to the New York Post, the mayoral candidate when his car was stolen by kids:
An Atlanta mayoral candidate who voted to defund millions of dollars from the local police department’s budget reportedly had his car stolen by a group of young thieves this week.
City Council Member Antonio Brown had just gotten out of his white Mercedes coupe to speak to fellow community leader Ben Norman in northwest Atlanta’s Dixie Hills community Wednesday when he spotted four or five kids — the youngest only 6 or 7, WAGA-TV reported.
The children were walking around a store — and within seconds were inside Brown’s car, he said.
“One kid was in the driver’s seat,” Brown told the outlet. “Ben attempted to open the door to get him out of the car. He fought with Ben. I then engaged and tried to get him out of the car. The three other kids were trying to figure out how to get in the car or stay out of the car. He started to hit on the gas. Ben let go.”
“As he started to speed up, and I knew that if I had not let go, I knew I probably could have killed myself because he was going so fast, I would have started to tumble,” he added. “And I would have hurt him.”
Brown said he filed a report with the Atlanta Police Department.
Funny how that happens. When you lose a fight with a 6-year-old thug, you file a police report.
A six-year-old.
What would have happened if the thief had been a sixteen-year-old?
Or worse, a sixteen-year-old with a gun?
Mr. Brown probably wouldn’t have been around to file the report.
CM – Councilor Antonio Brown’s car was stolen in broad daylight https://t.co/uQjOLd76ZV
— Cameroon Magazine (@cameroonmag) May 27, 2021
https://twitter.com/omgness4real/status/1397909022225936385
Antonio Brown got his car stolen by kids in the city he is running to be mayor for and the 911 dispatch put his call as low priority, see this is the issue. Now you see how victims of the city feel, so with you running for mayor. This is definitely something you need to FIX!
— ab (@aspen_martin) May 27, 2021
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports the effects of defunding the police on Atlanta:
Homicides are up at least 52% from this time last year, while the number of shootings has increased more than 40%, according to the Atlanta Police Department’s most recent crime data.
The surge has led to an outcry from rattled residents and business owners and pressure on public officials to put the epidemic of violence at the forefront of their efforts.
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced she would not seek reelection this fall, setting the stage for a wide-open race for City Hall.
Brown kicked off his run for mayor with a platform of “reimagining” public safety and policing in Atlanta. Earlier this year, he sponsored a City Council ordinance to look into the feasibility of restructuring Atlanta’s public safety agencies and creating a new city department focused on “wellness.”
The councilman was also among the seven councilmembers who voted in support of an ordinance to withhold $73 million of the Atlanta Police Department’s budget until Bottoms’ administration drafted a plan to reinvent the culture of policing in the city.
As for Antonio Brown, WSBTV-2 has the rest of the story:
The councilman said it .took police 45 minutes to arrive because 911 incorrectly assigned it as low-priority dispatch.
He said the kids who stole his car acted out of hopelessness and desperation.
“This is a generational poverty issue. These kids, it’s 12:30 in the afternoon. Why aren’t they in school? Why aren’t we enforcing systems to ensure that if they are not in school, they’re in recreational centers?” Brown said.
The councilman said he doesn’t intend to file criminal charges against the young people who stole his car, which has not yet been found.
Maybe 911 categorized his call as “low priority” because in a city where cops are stretched thin, if you’re not dying you’re not a priority.
Maybe, if you want car-jacking to be a priority for the residents of Atlanta, you need to increase the police budget instead of defunding them.
Just a thought for Mr. Brown.
Something he might contemplate while “reimagining” a new car.
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