Former deputy blames defund-police movement for her assailant’s acquittal

A former San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy blamed the defund-the-police movement for the “emotional bias” that led to the acquittal of a man charged with beating and shooting her during a 911 call.

Former Deputy Meagan McCarthy relayed the sentiment on Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s podcast “Unmuted with Marsha.” A copy of the podcast, set to be posted this week, was provided to The Washington Times.

Mrs. Blackburn questioned what effect the movement, which gained steam following the death of George Floyd, might have had on the trial against Ari Young, a schizophrenic who was caught on video in 2019 beating Mrs. McCarthy and stealing her firearm.

Jurors found Mr. Young not guilty of attempted murder and assault on a police officer with a weapon in May. The jury did find Mr. Young guilty of negligent discharge of a firearm. Jurors could not reach a verdict on a host of other charges, including resisting arrest.

Mrs. McCarthy told Mrs. Blackburn that the defund-the-police movement had damaged the institution of law enforcement. People stopped looking at police officers as regular people trying to do their jobs and instead allowed political issues to invade their views of law enforcement, she said.

Those biased feelings have entered courtrooms and led to Mr. Young’s acquittal earlier this summer, Mrs. McCarthy contended.

“These jurors are looking at cops as an institution of bad, instead of this as a situation where a suspect tried to kill a cop,” Mrs. McCarthy said. “There was bias from the beginning.”
  
Mrs. McCarthy said that she spent over three years preparing for the trial.

“The trial was the most traumatic thing that I ever had been through, including the shooting,” Mrs. McCarthy said. “It was heinous.”

Mrs. McCarthy recalled that she responded to a 911 call from Mr. Young’s mother. She said that when she arrived, Mr. Young was angrily walking down the driveway.

She then tried to calm him down.

Mrs. McCarthy said she placed the man’s hand on the small of his back and then attempted to pat him down. She added that the move was part of the law enforcement agency’s detention and investigation procedure.

The video showed Mr. Young taking Mrs. McCarthy to the ground and punching her in the face before stealing her gun and firing it. Mrs. McCarthy said that she was on her hands and knees when Mr. Young pointed the gun at her and pulled the trigger. Then she ran and hid behind a bush, and heard another shot ring out.

Mrs. McCarthy said that backup arrived and shot Mr. Young in a “lethal force encounter,” after which he was taken to the hospital.

Raj Maline, Mr. Young’s lawyer, told ABC News 7 in Los Angeles that Mrs. McCarthy could not detain somebody “because you want to do an investigation.”

The case had a racial element — Mrs. McCarthy is White while Mr. Young is Black.

Mrs. Blackburn also questioned what effect the trial might have had on people considering a career in law enforcement.

A study from the Police Executive Research Forum released earlier this year showed that while law enforcement agencies were bringing on more new officers in 2022 than in the last three years, resignations and early retirements have outpaced hiring, resulting in widespread shortfalls.

Mrs. Blackburn proposed bipartisan legislation with Sen. Jon Ossof, Georgia Democrat, earlier this year that would set aside $162 million in grant funding to hire additional police officers.

The legislation would also ensure that officers hired with the grant funding would undergo background checks and mental-health evaluations.

“This bipartisan legislation with Sen. Ossoff takes a critical step toward strengthening hiring and bolstering our law enforcement community,” Mrs. Blackburn said in a statement on the measure.