Police for me, not for thee

OPINION:

Minneapolis City Council members who pressed hard to defund police have now turned around and voted themselves a private security detail that costs taxpayers roughly $4,500 a day. They’ve spent $63,000 so far, Fox News reported.

This is hypocrisy at its worst; elitism and arrogance at its root; a bit of dereliction of duty thrown in, to boot.

It’s a real police for me, not for thee attitude on the part of those who were elected, in part, to secure and protect the rights of those who did the electing.

And the elitism cuts even deeper: Not only have taxpayers been put on the hook for this cushy private security detail, but also the government officials receiving the cushy private security are being kept quiet. Taxpayers are paying for something they don’t even know what they’re paying for, in other words.

“The names of the people getting security details are not public,” according to a spokesperson for the city, speaking to Fox.

The private security detail came about because council members reportedly received death threats after their calls to defund local police and adopt a more “holistic” style of community safety. The proposal outright disbands the Minneapolis Police Department and implements in its place a “department of community safety and violence prevention, which will have responsibility for public safety services prioritizing a holistic, public health-oriented approach.”

How nice.

Perhaps the plan is for police to gently guide criminals from their criminal acts with such non-offensive language as “time out!” or “sir, ma’am, please put down the gun and let’s discuss your grievance.”

This is a two-tier system of justice. And it’s utterly un-American, given this nation was founded on principles of of, by and for the people — where the public servants are the just that, employees, hired and paid by their bosses, the voters.

But it’s not just Minneapolis.

The defund police movement has spread far and wide.

“GOP and Democrats clash over police reform in Congress as pressure for action mounts,” CNN reported.

On one side, stand the Republicans, with an insistence to keep reform in the hands of the locals. On the other — Democrats, pushing hard to federalize police, which would ultimately give the Big Government bureaucrats in Washington the power to control and dictate how community safety and security efforts should be conducted.

And in between are the U.S. Capitol Police, protecting all the congressional members on Capitol Hill.

As talk of police reform continues, the deal-breaker should be this: Anyone who calls for defunding or dismantling of police departments must also cede personal security.

There should be no protections for the public servant classes that aren’t also — that aren’t first — provided the taxpaying citizens.

• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley. Listen to her podcast “Bold and Blunt” by clicking HERE. And never miss her column; subscribe to her newsletter by clicking HERE.