Overall, the county’s health and human services programs received $53,696,679. ![]() “They continually drop every ounce of society’s luggage at our feet and expect us to pick it up and carry it, and they give us nothing to do it with.”Ī Spokane County budget breakdown from 2020 shows the Sheriff’s Office received $45,079,551 in funding. “Heck, folks, they never funded us,” Knezovich said. Knezovich did not address acts of police violence in Spokane, instead focusing on calls to defund the police. Those calling for changes to address racial bias in policing, Robinson said, are not activists but the community at large, as evidenced by the thousands who marched in Spokane in support after Floyd’s killing. ![]() “The reality is that the suicide rates for our first responders in our community are off the charts. “Just because we’re calling for accountability doesn’t mean we’re not supporting law enforcement, too,” Robinson said. Robinson, who attended the event, said he and Knezovich don’t agree on many points, but he’s focused on those in which they can find common ground and address problems on “both sides of the badge.” “They care about causes, and most of their causes aren’t worth caring about.” He said he’s shaken hands with Kurtis Robinson, president of the Spokane chapter of the NAACP, and that he told Robinson he doesn’t like activists.Īctivists “don’t care about people, folks,” Knezovich said. Knezovich said he’s worked with Black activists in the community, but that they aren’t focused enough on unity. “And if you would’ve taken the time to sit and listen, you would’ve heard 800,000 police officers in America go, ‘That was wrong.’ ” And that act was inexcusable,” Knezovich said. “You blame all of us for the acts of one individual. He addressed the murder of George Floyd without naming the victim. Knezovich said activists and the media forget these moments law enforcement face. He described responding to a call in which a 3-year-old girl tugged on his pants, looked up at him with “gorgeous brown eyes” and told him, “Daddy beat up Mommy.” Knezovich, in his speech to the crowd, pointed to the traumatizing experiences law enforcement and their families must carry. Green passed the mic to people involved in ROAR who said police showed them compassion when no one else would, before giving Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich a plaque to show their appreciation. “I love the police department because they arrested him,” Sherry said.ĭanny decried calls to defund the police, saying the world is getting “crazier and crazier and crazier.” The couple repeated that without law enforcement to “clean up the streets,” there would be “mayhem and chaos.” The crowd responded with applause and amens. His wife Sherry took the mic to say police saved their family. Green’s life was spiraling out of control when police officers pulled him over for driving while under the influence, he said. ![]() He said he preaches a message of unity and compassion for law enforcement. Green spoke to a mostly white crowd, peppered with American flags, MAGA hats, “Back the Blue” shirts and posters promoting Republican candidate for governor Josh Freed, who attended the rally. ![]() Pastor Danny Green, who founded Reaching Out Advocating Recovery, or ROAR, began the event with prayers and the Pledge of Allegiance, “because that’s just what Americans do, amen,” he said. Several hundred people flying dozens of pro-police American flags featuring a single blue stripe gathered Saturday by the Riverfront Park clocktower for the Law Enforcement Support Rally organized by local pastors.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |