From Staff Reports and the office of Rep. Val Demings
Rep. Val Demings, a former 27-year law enforcement officer and Chief of Police for the Orlando Police Department, participated in a House Judiciary hearing on violence and violent threats against minority-serving institutions, including HBCUs and synagogues. Witnesses included Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker of Colleyville, Texas.
During the hearing, Rep. Demings responded to false claims regarding “defunding the police.”
Watch the Video here.
“Let me say it for about the millionth time: we are not going to defund the police," Demings said. "We are going to fund the police. And we can have the backs of our police officers and the communities in which we serve, too. The communities most at risk of crime want more security, not less…that’s why we’re working to get police departments more resources, not less, and it’s why we need to expand the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which I am working on through my other committee, Homeland Security.
Demings, the FL-10 representative which includes Apopka, believes reducing violent crime should be a top priority.
“Our number one priority has to be the reduction of violent crime. I have been saying that for over three decades. But let me be clear: that also includes escalating threats by extremists targeting Black Americans, Jewish Americans, Sikh Americans, and others…I have worked alongside the brave men and women in blue…I have seen them risk their lives over and over again to keep all – not just a few – all communities safe. And what I know from my experience is that those police officers, those rank and file officers would be extremely concerned about the safety of students, and threats against students in their communities…I invite my colleagues to get to know some of the law enforcement officers, some of the rank and file officers, that they claim to know.”
Demings previously joined members of Congress and law enforcement representatives to speak in support of her legislation to increase resources for local police departments.
“[Representative Demings] has been an FOP Member for many years and as a working street cop brings a knowledge to Congress that is so valuable to our profession," said Fraternal Order of Police President Patrick Yoes. "Her experience and background in addressing the nation’s skyrocketing crime rate – she knows how to protect a community because she’s done it, and she’s worked a beat and worked every position up to Chief. She knows that violent crimes, homicides, shootings, are the deepest wounds in our communities…My friends, this is not a political issue, this is a people issue, and one that we need to get right because the outcome is vital and so important to so many people. The VICTIM Act will give resources to agencies across this country in order to be able to address that violent crime…it makes our communities and the job of being a law enforcement officer so much safer.”
“This is an American issue, not a Democratic issue or a Republican issue," Said National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives Executive Director Dwayne Crawford. "And it is a people issue…we need all of our elected officials to put America first and say collectively, we’ve got to find solutions of how to address this issue of violent crime.”
“This bill [The VICTIM Act] delivers three things: this bill delivers safety, this bill delivers justice, and this bill delivers accountability," said National Police Foundation President Jim Burch. "That’s what our communities want, that’s what our communities need, and that’s what we intend to deliver with the strategic support provided by this bill. This bill addresses the needs of crime victims who are so deserving of a better hand, so deserving of our support, our care, and our attention…This bill delivers vital support for those in law enforcement agencies who are tasked with addressing some of the most complex, difficult cases, and bringing closure to those cases, rapidly. Not only to provide justice to the crime victims but to prevent further violence and further carnage. There can be no more important resources made available to the law enforcement community and that’s why we wholeheartedly support the VICTIM Act.”
Rep. Demings previously introduced the Violent Incident Clearance and Technological Investigative Methods (VICTIM) Act, legislation to help law enforcement departments close murder and violent crime cases by hiring, training, and retaining detectives and victims services personnel.
Rep. Demings also cosponsored Rep. Josh Gottheimer’s Invest to Protect Act of 2022, which would establish new federal grants to local police departments with fewer than 200 officers.
She has also led on Invest to Protect Act of 2022to protect law enforcement officers from concealable armor-piercing weapons, and the Protecting Our Communities Act, to protect law enforcement officers and the public from high-powered, rapid-firing, and untraceable weapons.
In 2020, the United States saw the biggest rise in murder since the start of national record-keeping in 1960. 21,570 people were murdered in the United States in 2020—the most since 1995—a 29.4% increase over 2019. Additionally, the FBI estimates that 77% of all murders in the United States in 2020 were via firearms. That is the highest share on record and the most of any year on record except 1993.
