Charleston, SC police chief ‘fed up’ with violent, repeat offenders
'Gangs, drugs, lack of community mentors, and retaliation' are fueling a spike in shootings, says Chief Luther Reynolds
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}After a deadly shooting that occurred in downtown Charleston, South Carolina, Police Chief Luther Reynolds said Friday that he is certain that the shooter was a repeat offender.
"Thankfully, here, the idea of defunding does not get any traction here. It does not resonate. People do not support that. Our mayor, council, and communities have no time for that idea," Reynolds told "America Reports."
Reynolds believes "gangs, drugs, lack of community mentors, and retaliation" are fueling a spike in shootings across American cities.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Reynolds is "fed-up" with" repeat violent armed criminal offenders who are victimizing our communities."
"Every one of these violent offenders, up to and including murderers, are being let out. It has to change. There is a lot more that we need to do with our criminal justice system, all of us together," Reynolds said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Five people have been wounded and two of them are in critical condition after a shooting Wednesday near downtown Charleston.
The incident is under investigation and no suspect has been identified. No arrests have been made.
Reynolds explained that offenders are released "on a certain bond" and must abide by "certain expectations and restrictions." He explained further that offenders are not adhering to "restrictions and expectations."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}After bringing that to the attention of the courts, law enforcement's attempt to put them back in jail is often a failure.
"They don’t revoke the bond or put them in jail. They are still out there … We have things like GPS ankle bracelets as an example," Reynolds said.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Reynolds went on to say, "We will say hey, we have a suspect. The person has a GPS monitoring device. Can you tell us where they were at the time of the shooting? An answer that we often get is that ‘we can’t tell you because the battery stopped working a month ago because the suspect cut it off a month ago because we never initiated the program in the first place."
Reynolds concluded that accountability is a "shared responsibility with the community" and everyone that is a part of the criminal justice system.