Idaho Republicans Promote a National Police Force

When Joe Biden was President, Idaho Republicans often warned me of an effort to nationalize policing. It was said in the wake of the George Floyd riots that Democrats would seize an opportunity to take law enforcement control away from local governments. Biden is gone, Donald Trump is now President, and there’s a new effort to federalize police. I guess it’s a bad idea when it’s the left’s guy, and a good idea when it’s the right’s guy.

This is Naked Political Ambition

Check out this link from the Idaho Capital Sun. Republican legislators in Boise are working to dictate policy to sheriffs and local police departments, demanding they sign agreements with federal immigration officers. What gets lost here is that local law enforcement already voluntarily works with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol.

I know every member of the Magic Valley’s legislative delegation. They don’t know best when it comes to policing, and most of them sure as heck aren’t smarter than the men and women wearing badges. This is grandstanding. An effort to portray themselves as saving you from criminal illegal aliens because local law enforcement, they claim, won’t. Even if their effort fails before legislators leave session to campaign for re-election, they’ll still send out mailers trumpeting their efforts to protect you from the bogeyman, but they were foiled. So, send them back to Boise, and they’ll get it right next year.

Bad People Make Bad Decisions

I’m not going to be polite because this is a serious matter. If we lose local control of policing, we eventually could lose basic liberties. Politicians know this, albeit some are quite stupid. There are people who are willing to surrender local sovereignty for their own personal gain. It’s not law enforcement that needs behavior modification.

Timeline: George Floyd's Death, Protests, Riots, Arrests, and Chauvin Trial

It was late afternoon on Memorial Day, 2020 and many Minnesotans had observed the normally active weekend hunkered down because of the growing pandemic.

George Floyd drove to a grocery store in Minneapolis and bought some cigarettes. He was accused by employees of making the purchase with a counterfeit $20 bill and police were called. Floyd was still there in his vehicle when two officers arrived. About 10 minutes later, Chauvin and another officer showed up and the situation began to escalate. Chauvin began kneeling on Floyd's neck as he was facedown on the street. Despite repeated pleas from Floyd and a growing crowd of bystanders to remove his knee, Chauvin continued as if frozen in position with no facial expression.

After more than 8 minutes, Chauvin finally stood up and Floyd had become unresponsive. An ambulance was called and a short while later, it was reported Floyd was dead.

A video of the incident slowly spread on social media around the state, the country and the world. Viewers literally watched a man slowly die, repeating "I can't breathe."

The now historic response began the following day.

Gallery Credit: Kim David