Burgeoning Crime Wave Swamps Big Cities

America's big cities are wrestling with an unprecedented surge in crime.  No one can claim the rolling swell of crime is a shock in the wake of the nationwide clamor to defund police departments.  City officials bowed to rioting mobs demands, cleaving police budgets and trimming cops on the street.

The impact was predictable.  A Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) preliminary report shows murders and non-negligent manslaughter offenses increased 14.8% after years of decline.  Aggravated assaults climbed 4.6%.  Arson skyrocketed 19.2%. The reporting period covers January to June 2020.

The final FBI report for last year won't be released until this September.  However, In the last three months of 2020, the crime wave evolved into a tsunami.  Homicides spiraled 32.2% in cities with a population of at least one million, according to data in the FBI Quarterly Uniform Report. 

After the George Floyd death, riots and looting erupted in many major cities.  As the lawlessness continued night after night, weak kneed, mostly Democrat city officials surrendered to Black Lives Matter and Antifa by rushing to defund their police departments with little or no public debate. 

Cities including New York, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Austin and Atlanta ordered deep budget cuts that impacted manpower.  Departments were forced to slice payrolls and decrease police presence, which slowed response time.

Cuts ranged from $1 billion in New York City to $29 million in Oakland.  The result was devastating for the most vulnerable residents of these major cities.  Deadly crimes spiked in neighborhoods with mostly African-American and Hispanic majorities.  

In Minneapolis, scene of the Floyd death, murders jumped 46% between December of last year and March 28 of this year.  In New York City, murders shot up 11.8% as of March 21 year-over-year.  Shootings spiked 40.1% in just the first quarter of this year.

Los Angeles reported a 38% increase in murders in 2020, despite the Coronavirus  mandates that kept most residents sheltered in their homes and apartments.  After Austin sliced its police budget by $43 million, arsons soared 73%, aggravated assaults rose 26%.  

Portland, scene of some of the worst rioting, experienced a 1,600% increase in murders in just the first two months of this year.  From July 2020 to February, the homicide rate escalated 270.6%.  Once peaceful, laid back Portland was transformed into a war zone by anarchists. 

These depressing statistics prompted an outcry from citizen groups in these cities, pressuring city councils and mayors to backtrack in the face of withering criticism.  New York reinstated $92 million in its police budget, Baltimore proposed a $27 million increase after chopping $22 million in 2020.

Other cities followed suit, including Oakland, Minneapolis, Houston, San Diego and others.  After being drowned out for months by the anarchists, ordinary citizens and many business said: Enough!  But restoring budgets may be too late for many cities caught up in anti-police media and protests frenzy.

Police are leaving in droves in the cities that refused to back the blue.  New York City Police Department resignations and retirements are up 75% from the previous year.  More than 5,300 uniformed officers have left the force.  When cities defund police, it's a clear signal policing is no longer a priority.

In Minneapolis, more than 200 officers left between last July and this March.  That is a 49% increase from the previous year. The Police Department union blames the lack of city council support and the city's refusal to back officers during the worst of the riots.  

The story is the same in other crime plagued cities.  Seattle and Portland have both reported the biggest wave of  police departures in recent memory. Staffing shortages are exacerbating the out-of-control rise in violent crime in these cities and others.  Cutting police budgets has deadly consequences.

The head of the Police Union in Portland had harsh criticism for City Commissioner Joe Ann Hardesty, who spearheaded the defund the police movement in the city,  "Roving gangs of black clad rioters do not speak for the hundreds of thousands of residents and business owners, who want a safe and clean city. Yet local politicians supported them."

Some concerned law enforcement officials are speculating the defund the police movement has a broader agenda than just addressing the law enforcement shooting of African-Americans. Former Arizona police officer Brandon Tatum, author of an upcoming book on the subject, has a plausible theory.

"I believe it's an agenda to completely destroy and dismantle local police departments so that the (federal) government can have control of law enforcement in this country and push a nationwide agenda," Tatum said in an interview. 

Tatum has a point.  If law enforcement is federalized, then the government in Washington can enforce mandates and restrictions that support its progressive agenda.  Imagine a federal cops seizing guns from legal owners, forcing citizens to get COVID vaccines or policing public speech.

That would be a dangerous development that would infringe on Constitutional rights.  However, if the Washington progressives pass laws, then what better way to force compliance than having a federal police force to do its bidding?  It's a sobering thesis that should worry every American.

The Murky Money Trail to Black Lives Matter

Tracing funding for Black Lives Matter requires following a murky trail of complex legal entities that facilitate raising millions of dollars for the activist group. In some ways, the path has characteristics of a money laundering operation because other nonprofits act as a pass through for funding BLM. 

Black Lives Matter has evolved from a hashtag in 2013 to an international movement with a seemingly unlimited supply of cash to fund operations.  Although BLM has never been certified as a charitable organization, it is the recipient of millions of tax-free donations from other lesser known groups.

Navigating the financial labyrinth, involves deep research that no mainstream media outlet is interested in doing. The intricate curving trail appears to be a deliberate effort to skirt the edges of laws of the Federal Elections Commission and charitable foundations.

The corkscrew road begins with ActBlue, a political action committee (PAC) that fundraises for Democratic Party politicians and causes.  In what appears to be a sleight of hand to frustrate nosy reporters, ActBlue is an umbrella brand for two separate not-for-profit entities.

The duo includes: ActBlue Charities, a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization; and ActBlue Civics, another charitable group that fundraises for liberal advocacy groups.  The ActBlue PAC and the two charities share leadership and office space as well as the same political goals.

The political action committee ActBlue functions as a fund raising platform for the three affiliated entities.  Billions of dollars have been raised to support the trio.  The ActBlue PAC website claims it has collected $5.75 billion online since it was established in 2004.

The Black Lives Matter's website has disclaimer language at the bottom in small print that alerts visitors donations are processed through ActBlue Charities, making gifts tax-deductible.  Money given directly to Black Lives Matter cannot be deducted.  ActBlue is in fact functioning as a pass through to BLM.

There is nothing illegal about this arrangement.  However, the funds arrive at BLM without the names of donors attached, allowing individuals to give money while remaining anonymous. The fundraising arm ActBlue charges a transaction fee of 3.95% for each donation it receives and passes along.

When the two ActBlue charities file their reports, the money it paid out is listed as a lump sum under pass through contributions.  The two nonprofits don't have to identify which groups received the money or the amount of each donation, making it impossible to learn how much cash was funneled to BLM.

ActBlue is just one of the actors financially propping up Black Lives Matter.  Another organization Thousand Currents, a non profit, provided what it called "fiduciary oversight, financial support and administrative services" for several years.  However, it came under increasing public scrutiny.

Reporters at a conservative website recently revealed the vice chairman of Thousand Currents was Susan Rosenberg, a former member of the terrorist Weather Underground who was sentenced to 58 years in prison for possession of a cache of weapons and explosives after her arrest in 1984. 

Rosenberg also allegedly was an accomplice in the 1981 Brink's truck robbery that resulted in the deaths of two guards.  Her sentence was commuted in 2001 by President Bill Clinton.  She served 16 years of her five-decades long sentence.  Despite her crimes, the activist finagled a gig as vice chairman of a nonprofit.

After word leaked of her association with Thousand Currents, the organization was folded into a California nonprofit with ties to billionaire George Soros.  A filing by Thousands Currents with the California Department of Justice on July 13, 2020 contained the following notice.

"Thousand Currents, a California nonprofit public benefit corporation, (and) all the assets associated with Thousands Current fiscal sponsorship of the Black Lives Matter Global Network project," is being transferred to the Tides Center, a California nonprofit.

At the the time the papers were filed, an audit for 2019 showed that the organization held about $3.4 million in assets for Black Lives Matter. Thousand Currents had pumped nearly $1.8 million into the activist group in the previous fiscal year. 

In the filing, Thousand Currents notified the state  that Tides Center would "serve as the new fiscal sponsor for the Black Lives Matter Global Network project."  Publicly available records show that the Tides Center had nearly $1 billion in total assets at the end of 2019. 

InfluenceWatch, a public interest watchdog, has published extensive research on Tides Center, created in 1976.  Tides operates like no other nonprofit.  Donors make gifts to "savings accounts" held by Tides investments that grow in value.  At some point, donors advise Tides to pay out grants.

Tides Foundation, an affiliate of Tides Center, paid out $291 million in grants to other liberal, Democrat nonprofits.  Tides Foundation brags it has worked with more than 15,000 individuals and organizations to support projects which advocate "shared prosperity and social justice."

Under the Tides model, donors can give directly to fund projects without being identified with the political or social cause.  Tides officials have made no secret of their mission to offer "anonymity" to donors.  Tides promises this same anonymity to foundations that give money to fund their causes.

When a traditional foundation sends cash to Tides, they are not required by law to reveal any information about the grants eventual destination to the Internal Revenue Service. When Tides files its annual tax return, it lists its donations but is not compelled to reveal where the money came from.

Another unique feature of Tides is that it serves as an incubator for new activist groups.  For example, if a donor wants to fund a specific agenda for which no group exists, Tides will assist in creating one, offering recruiting, financial, administrative and oversight support. 

The Tides Foundation and the Tides Center fatten their idealogical war chest by charging an eight-to-nine percent handling fee on funds that pass through their accounts on the way to other activists. When Ben & Jerry's designated some profits to environmental charities, 20% of the cut was shipped to Tides.   

Pew Charitable Trusts has dispatched more than $40 million to Tides since 1996. At least 17 other foundations have poured money into the charitable arm.   Open Society Foundation, a George Soros nonprofit, has given at least $3.5 million to Tides.  Tides has also supported nonprofits connected to Soros.

This tangled web is necessary for funding Black Lives Matter, according to its defenders.  The reason? The organization claims it created a Black Lives Matter Global Network, which was incorporated in Delaware in 2016, as the initial step in creating its own foundation.

However, the network has not yet been recognized as tax-exempt under the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Code Section 501(c)(3) and thus must rely on "fiscal sponsorships" from other nonprofits.  Fiscal sponsorships are legal arrangements, according to the National Council of Nonprofits.

There is a difference in operating in a technically legal fashion and being totally transparent.  An organization, such as Black Lives Matter with millions of dollars, should demonstrate it has nothing to hide by publishing a list of individuals and foundations that have provided funding.

The Black Lives Matter movement demands public accountability from police, public officials, businesses and individuals. Apparently, the group does not apply the same principle to its leadership or organization. 

Defunding Police In The Midst of Crime Waves

One-year-old Davell Gardner reclined in a stroller near a Brooklyn playground.  His father stood admiring his son.  Suddenly two men approached and opened fire.  A bullet pierced little Davell in the stomach.  He died minutes later at a local hospital.  Davell was two months shy of his second birthday.

The tragedy in the New York City area was one of seven murders on the same day.  Davell is just the youngest victim in a deadly killing spree in the nation's largest city.  In one bloody 28-day period, New York City recorded 42 murders, a 13.5% increase from the same period a year ago.

Davell's sad death was the exclamation point to New York City's 24% spike in murders from 2019. The boy's father, Davell Gardner Sr., had a message for the thugs who killed his infant son: "These guys just took my son's life.  For what?  He didn't do nothing to nobody."

The boy's grandmother Samantha Gardner minced no words.  "For the cowards that did this, you should be ashamed of yourself because everybody talks about Black Lives Matter.  What about baby lives? You took an innocent from his mother and father as well as the grandparents."

New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio presides over the crime outbreak with appalling ineptness. He has the audacity to proclaim his administration has been tough on crime, while leading the effort to defund the police department, the thin blue line that stands between peace and anarchy on the streets.

De Blasio championed the city council's recent vote to slash $1 billion from the police department's $6 billion budget.  The mayor pledged the funds would go to "youth programs and recreation centers." It wouldn't have prevented Davell Gardner's murder. He was wounded near a Brooklyn playground.

De Blasio, a harsh critic of the police department, ignores the soaring number of shootings. Last week New York passed another grisly milestone when it recorded shooting number 777, surpassing the figures for all of last year.  The mayor has done nothing but assure New Yorkers he is praying for the victims.

Since the George Floyd death on May 25, there has been a nationwide escalation in crime.  The last time the country witnessed such a rise of this magnitude was in 2015 and 2016, after the controversy connected to the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.

Gotham City's crime surge pales in comparison to gory Chicago.  In the Windy City, murders are up 51% from 2019.  In one 28-day period, Chicago killings soared 89% compared to the same period a year ago. Shootings have increased 47%,   There have been 414 murders this year, a record clip even for Chicago.

One of the latest victims is a nine-year-old boy who was playing in a vacant lot near the site of a former housing project.  Janari Ricks and  a few friends were caught in deadly gunfire that ignited nearby.  A stray bullet struck the youth in his chest. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

A few days earlier 15 people were wounded in an a mass shooting at a funeral.  Gunmen fired from a vehicle that sped away before it crashed one block later.  The criminals fled.  The victims included at least 10 women, according to police reports. The scene is all too familiar to Chicagons.  

Last year 13 people were wounded, four of them critically, in a memorial gathering.  In 2018, six people were shot as mourners were leaving a church. In 2013, gunmen shot 13 people outside funeral services, wounding a three-year-old boy.  In 2012, two men were shot outside a church memorial service.

Police have not escaped violence.  Three Chicago police officers were shot by a carjacking suspect on a Thursday morning.  The prisoner was taken out of a patrol van and walked into the Northwest Side police station when he opened fire wounding the officers. Police are investigating where the suspect got the gun. 

In the midst of a crime rampage, Chicago's tragically incompetent Mayor Lori Lightfoot has stiff-armed growing calls to defund the police by city council members.  Her stance has more to do with racial politics than her support for the city's men and women who are hired to protect citizens.

"When you talk about defunding, you're talking about getting rid of officers.  Most of our diversity lies in junior officers.  Which means you are getting rid of black and brown people," she told the Chicago Tribune. Like many mayors, she views the police department as part of the political spoils of her office.

West Coast cities have been some of the most aggressive in scaling back police budgets.  In Seattle the city Council carved 50% out of the current budget and has already chopped spending for next year by $76 million.  Seattle experienced a stunning 525% increase in crime in July.

During the height of violent protests, Police Chief Carmen Best warned local residents and businesses that her department would not be able to contain unruly crowds to prevent looting, arson and rioting.  The city council had shackled police by outlawing the use of pepper spray, a tool for dispersing crowds.

Portland's City Council sliced $15 million from its police budget.  "Defunding the police is a victory," the City Council said in a statement. And the council threatened: "We are not done."  Violent shootings have surged 240% in the city compared to the same period a year ago.

Portland recorded more homicides in July than in any other month over the last 30 years.  And the violence is spreading like a cancer.  In the latest incident, rioters doused an elderly woman with white paint and harassed another who was using a walker to shuffle through the crowd.  

In Minneapolis, scene of the George Floyd incident, the city council ripped $10 million from the police budget.  Homicides have jumped 60% from 2019.  Violent shootings have totaled 269, surpassing the number for all of 2019. 

There are two ironies to the cities' Bataan-like march to defund police.  The overwhelming majority of shooting victims listed in this article are African-Americans. Secondly, the neighborhoods most impacted by the crimes are predominantly black.  African-Americans are demanding more police presence not less.

That is paradoxical because the loudest voice for defunding police has been the Black Lives Matter crowd. There are other organizations that have joined the chorus too.  However, if activists are concerned for black lives they should be advocating for beefed up police funding and presence in black neighborhoods.

A recent Pew Research study found more Americans agree with increasing local police spending (30%) than endorse defunding (25%). A total of 42% of those surveyed support the current level of funding as appropriate.  Despite the media drumbeat, most Americans are not in favor of defunding police.

The fact is Black Lives Matter and other politically motivated organizations care more about creating chaos and spreading a false narrative than about African-Americans.  Appallingly, the result has been a media-backed stampede in support of BLM's campaign to defund the very people protecting black lives.