Mike Solan reacts as Seattle City Council ready to defund police dept. by 50 percent
Police union leader Mike Solan told 'Fox & Friends Weekend' Socialism has taken ahold of the public safety discourse in Seattle
"Socialists" on Seattle's City Council are holding a "reasonable majority" of residents hostage by threatening to slash police spending by 50 percent, a union leader said Saturday.
"It's absolutely a travesty," said Seattle Police Officers Guild President Michael Solan, appearing on "Fox & Friends Weekend."
SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL SEEMS READY TO DEFUND POLICE BY 50 PERCENT
Solan warned that the defund police push in Seattle is "leading the way in how public safety will be conducted from this day forward" nationwide.
Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best talks with activists near a plywood-covered and closed Seattle police precinct Tuesday, June 9, 2020, in Seattle, following protests over the death of George Floyd, a black man who was in police custody in Minneapolis. Under pressure from city councilors, protesters and dozens of other elected leaders who have demanded that officers dial back their tactics, the police department on Monday removed barricades near its East Precinct building in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, where protesters and riot squads had faced off nightly. Protesters were allowed to march and demonstrate in front of the building, and the night remained peaceful. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
"If our reasonable community across this city, our state, and more importantly, our nation don't wake up ... crime will rise significantly, and over half, if not more, of the police jobs in our city will be eviscerated," Solan said.
"This is coming into your neighborhood if we don't wake up and stop this socialist threat immediately."
The Seattle Times reported Thursday that three council members have thrown their support behind Decriminalize Seattle and King County Equity Now. The paper described Decriminalize Seattle as a coalition inspired by the Black Lives Matter protests that seek police defunding and major reforms aimed at ending systemic racism.
The Times said seven out of the council's nine members support defunding police. The department’s budget is currently $409 million.
That means there's enough support on the council to defund police without Democratic Mayor Jenny Durkan’s approval.
Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best told "The Jason Rantz Show" on Friday that the council members who support defunding police don't have a real plan.
"All they have shown us is that they want to reduce the budget by 50 percent. I haven't seen any real planning in that. And, the real tragedy of doing that is that we will lose 1,100 employees," she said.
Solan offered a more ominous prediction, saying Seattle will be "plagued with crime" if defunding moves forward.
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"As police officers, we’re engaging in this reimagining or re-envisioning police services to our entire city as we must because we serve at the will of the community," he said.
"But sadly, this socialist city council controlled by a certain group of individuals that have the entire council, if not more importantly our ignored majority, hostage by their political antics, must be stopped."
Fox News' Edmund DeMarche and The Associated Press contributed to this report
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