As a former police chief, it would make sense for Rep. Val Demings (D-FL-10) to be against defunding police. In a recent tweet, Demings posted a short video saying that those in favor of defunding are a "small minority" and that "Democrats overwhelmingly voted for legislation to fund our police, including my bill to solve unsolved murders." As such, she says, "when Republicans claim we’re “defunding the police,” that’s “ALTERNATIVE FACTS.”
Democrats overwhelmingly voted for legislation to fund our police, including my bill to solve unsolved murders.
When Republicans claim we’re “defunding the police,” that’s,“ALTERNATIVE FACTS.” pic.twitter.com/kVfwiSZrNQ
— Rep. Val Demings (@RepValDemings) October 19, 2022
In the video, Demings expresses disappointment in Congress, saying "I got to tell you, I have been extremely disappointed at members in this body, who would even put the safety and security of our nation, the safety and security of our neighborhoods, and have the political buffoonery that I have seen and heard."
Moreover, she insists the pro-defund lobby are not the majority.
"We know there are some in our caucus who've talked about defunding the police. That is a very small minority, and we know that. And so for the Republicans to say, "oh, that's what the majority of our caucus wants to do." That's a lie. And we have to demand better and hold them accountable and call them out for it. The only persons today who did not fund the police, were, let's see, I've got thirty on my bill, Republicans who crossed over, there was some crossover on other bills. But the only people for the most part who did not fund the police today were the Republicans. Let them explain that," Demings says in the video.
Demings made a similar statement in February, that "when we take the time to talk to communities throughout our nation, particularly those in high crime areas, you know what they tell us. Those communities say we want to fund the police. Matter of fact, we want to see more police." Additionally, the bill she refers to in the recent tweet is the VICTIM Act, which would provide grants through the Dept. of Justice to hire detectives and victim service workers.
While Demings looks to be against defunding police, her opponent, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) isn't so sure. Last June, when Demings first announced her run for Senate, Rubio pointed out that Demings has voted with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and members of the far-left "Squad" nearly 100% of the time.
The most damning instance is the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020. One provision of this bill states that if law enforcement agencies receiving federal funds does not follow the guidlines in the bill, they would have their funding cut off.
"If the Attorney General determines, as a result of monitoring under subsection (h) or otherwise, that a grant recipient under the Byrne grant program or under subsection (b) is not in substantial compliance with the requirements of this section, the Attorney General may revoke or suspend funding of that grant, in whole or in part, stated the language in the bill." Demings voted "Yea" on the bill.
Perhaps we should not be surprised that Rubio is the one who is receiving the majority of support from law enforcement, then.
