Scharfenberger Denounces Talks of Defunding & Disbanding Police

Middletown, N.J. – Assemblyman Gerry Scharfenberger (R-Monmouth) denounces recent discussions and proposals of defunding and/or disbanding police departments by elected officials across the United States. The idea of decreasing or dismantling of police departments has been a topic for decades, but has grown in attractiveness within some political circles in the wake of the tragic death of Mr. George Floyd in Minneapolis and the ensuing protests:

“The murder of George Floyd was a sickening display of excessive force by a police officer. That officer has rightly been fired and charged with Second Degree Murder and Manslaughter,” said Scharfenberger. “However, the calls by many in the media and some elected officials to “abolish and defund police departments” is frankly, sheer lunacy.”

As the Assemblyman points out, the majority of police officers are upstanding members of the Law Enforcement Community, but have been vilified by the national media and many politicians who only seek to dangerously increase tensions. Instead, he believes these same officials should work to advance open dialogues while working to improve community and police relations:

“To paint the over 800,000 dedicated men and women in law enforcement with the same broad brush due to the actions of a limited percentage of bad actors is not only unfair, but dangerous as well,” Scharfenberger continued. “The media and those same elected officials who are calling for this should instead strive to improve relations between police, residents, and the communities they represent while weeding out those who exhibit reckless, unprofessional behavior. But to suggest police be removed from society only serves to endanger communities.”

A false narrative that police have inherent, malicious intentions has become a popular trend especially with politicians who lack real leadership qualities. Yet, that notion couldn’t be farther from the truth and in fact, the vast amount of good work done by our police officers deserves to be highlighted:

“The great work done by the overwhelming majority of those in uniform far outweighs the completely reprehensible actions of those few officers who tarnish the shield,” says Scharfenberger. “It’s time to respect and support that majority of police officers for all they do and help build relations. Keep in mind the old police credo that no one despises a bad cop more than a good cop.”