A Texan lawmaker has encouraged New York police officers to leave the Empire State and relocate to Texas. Rep. Beth Van Duyne placed an advert in the New York Post urging the men and women of the NYPD to “escape” the city, noting the recent killing of Officer Jonathan Diller, who was shot dead during a traffic stop in March. The dead officer’s colleagues arrested two men, both with long criminal rap sheets.
In her advert, which she posted to Twitter, Van Duyne expressed her condolences to Mr. Diller’s family and said she was disgusted by the senseless crime. The Congresswoman added that she is equally disgusted by “pro-criminal” politicians who protect lawbreakers at the expense of serving police. The Texan furiously condemned political leaders who “endlessly work to put violent criminals back on to our streets.”
New York lawmakers frequently come under fire for “soft-on-crime” policies. Last year, a report found that Manhattan’s District Attorney Alvin Bragg had allowed around half of suspected felons to walk free, and the number released on bail doubled since he took office in 2018. Furthermore, Bragg increasingly downgraded felons to misdemeanors, which critics said contributed to high recidivism rates.
Democrats, including Governor Kathy Hochul, attempted to turn the tables on Republicans last summer, saying their criticisms of crime in the Big Apple rang hollow when they refused to back gun control measures. New York City Mayor Eric Adams simultaneously described New York as America’s “safest big city,” partly because his administration had removed 11,000 guns from its streets.
Nevertheless, Republican criticisms continued into 2024, with the spotlight turning toward state Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie in early April. Statistics show that crime has exploded in his East Bronx District. Rape was up 175%, felony assault 18%, robbery 6%, and theft 70% since the Democrat took office. Mr. Heastie is on record stating that he does not believe in raising criminal penalties and spoke out against Governor Hochul’s proposals to increase sentences for theft.
