Black Lives Matter calls for defunding police after 11-year-old shot and killed. Grandfather of young shooting victim says, “I don’t agree.”

Black Lives Matter calls for defunding police after 11-year-old shot and killed. Grandfather of young shooting victim says, “I don’t agree.”

Black Lives Matter calls for defunding police after 11-year-old shot and killed. Grandfather of young shooting victim says, “I don’t agree.”

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Washington, DC – The recent Fourth of July holiday weekend saw catastrophic violence, with shootings and deaths reported across the country, notably in Chicago, San Francisco, New Orleans, St. Louis, New York City, Atlanta, and Washington, DC.

As we previously reported, many lives claimed were those of our most innocent and vulnerable, the lives of young children.

7-year-old Natalia Wallace was fatally shot at a Fourth of July party at her grandmother’s house in Chicago, IL. 

Also in Chicago, an unidentified 14-year-old boy was shot and killed at a gathering in Englewood, and later died at the hospital.

8-year-old Royta Giles Jr. was shot and killed at a shopping mall in Hoover, AL.

Secoriea Turner of Atlanta, age 8, was shot and killed while in a car.

An unidentified 6year-old boy was fatally shot in San Francisco.

And in Washington, DC, Davon McNeal, age 11, was shot en route to a “stop the violence” cookout hosted by his mother as he exited a car to retrieve a phone charger.  Young Davon later died at the hospital.

Davon’s grandfather, John Ayala, recently spoke with Fox News about the circumstances of his grandson’s tragic death:

“I think in the cities, you have a lot of people that just do not value life at this time.  They don’t realize that when you take a life, that life is not coming back. 

“It’s not like TV.  You take a life and the guy shows back up in another television show or another movie, it’s not a video game. 

People feel that if they have a dispute, the only way to handle it is with gun violence.”

Ayala has long been at the forefront of approaching and responding to violence in the DC area.  Now, 50, at the age of 19 he started the DC chapter of the Guardian Angels.

According to their website, in addition to safety patrols, the Angels,

“help combat the terrifying disease of street crime by uniting citizens together to respond to the ever-changing elements of community problems. They address criminal activity where it is needed most and go beyond the defensive to empower the collective community by teaching practical skills, initiating community programs and emphasizing cooperation to solve problems.”

11 years ago, Ayala also founded Archangel Global Security, which employs sworn law enforcement officers for security, law enforcement, and protection.

After the tragic death of young Davon McNeal, local Black Lives Matter activists pressed the call for defending the police, saying,

“Your $533M budget should be DEFUNDED BECAUSE YOU CANT KEEP US OR OUR FAMILIES SAFE!”

 

When Fox News asked Ayala about the Black Lives Matter tweet calling for defunding the police, Ayala responded,

“I don’t agree.  We can’t take money from the police department.  We need the police.  You take the police from here and we wind up having less police officers in the street, less detectives. 

“It’s not gonna work.  Crime is gonna get worse.  You need police to run those calls.  You start having less police officers, who’s gonna come when there is a need for police services?”

Ayala went on to say say that some calls could be diverted from police, but budget funds should not be.

“There are calls that come into the police department that should not go to the police.  Certain calls should go to other agencies that can deal with, maybe mental health or… when it comes to ticketing here in DC, we have properties where officers call, special police call for ticketing, instead of calling the police they can call a company that comes out and tickets cars.  Money should go to those different agencies. 

“Where can you get that money from?  We have millions of dollars that are generated through red light cameras….

“But to remove money from the police department, I think is not good.”

Ayala also called efforts to remove police from schools “a big mistake.”

Proactive community interaction has a big part in Ayala’s recommended approach to violence in DC.

“What I think we still need is more organizations, more of us, and when I say us, people in the black community, to start going into the communities and talking to people to prevent the violence that are occurring. 

“Also, we need to go into the communities after there is something tragic as a shooting, and mentor and talk to other young people in our community as well, so we can prevent it from happening in the future.  Not just protests when a police officer hurts someone that looks like me. “

Addressing the topic of black-on-black crime, Ayala added,

“I agree we have to voice our opinion on it because that’s not right, that person should be arrested if he did something wrong, but there’s always one bad apple in every organization. 

“But if we’re going to go after the police officers when they hurt someone that looks like me, we need to go after the people that look like me that hurt people that look like me.”

In the meantime, some supporters in Milwaukee took a very different approach to share their support for law enforcement across the nation.

Protestors have altered a ‘Defund the Police’ mural outside of Milwaukee City Hall by painting over one letter, turning the slogan into ‘DEFEND the Police.’  The original mural was painted Wednesday to support the nationwide movement to divert funds from police departments toward schools and youth programs. 

Around 30 activists painted the original mural on Wednesday, July 1st without permits or permission from from the city. This mural painting has joined a wave of similar displays across the country following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the protests that followed.

On Friday, July 3rd, It was painted over by an anonymous group in an effort to show support for law enforcement. It was changed to spell out “Defend the Police” with the “D” painted blue, the first “E” covered, and the “U” changed to an “E”. Later that same day, FOX6 News spotted another paint job underway, reverting the spelling back to “Defund the Police.” 

The change to the original phrase came after former Alderman Robert Donovan criticized the mural via social media Wednesday night. 

Fixed it for you, folks!

Posted by Alderman Bob Donovan on Thursday, July 2, 2020

Donovan advocated for increasing funding for the city’s police department and protecting officers during his 20 years on Milwaukee’s Common Council. The “thin blue line” is a term for the police, used to mean that they are the line which keeps society from descending into chaos.

As with many cities across the country, Milwaukee has faced calls to defund its Police Department.  According to FOX 6 Milwaukee, some are calling for a $75 million cut in the Milwaukee Police Department’s $257 million budget.  The activists want the money diverted into things like public heath. 

Here is a video of the original mural being painted.

Here is what the painted over mural looked like.

After photos of the new “Defend the Police” paint job became public, the group that painted the original mural changed it back.  Jeremy Wilbur, who leads the group, posted a Facebook live video as he surveyed the altered mural.  He said he wants to see money for militarizing the police and surveilling protests to go towards schools and mental health:

“No we didn’t send you messages of hate. No we didn’t send you messages that were threatening. Let’s make this clear for them. We don’t hate cops.”

The group behind the change to the mural in Milwaukee has managed to remain anonymous. On Twitter a number of comments appeared to be praising the change:

“Defend the Police. A great idea.”

“I must find out who this hero is so I can buy him a beer. #Milwaukee #DefendThePolice.”

“Outside Milwaukee City Hall, protesters paint ‘defund the police.’ In response, their graffiti gets changed to ‘DEFEND the police’…keep it going America! This needs to catch across the country!”

In Milwaukee, the Common Council are looking at the likely implications of a 10% cut to the Police Department’s budget.  

DC Mayor hit with lawsuit over painting “Black Lives Matter” on city streets near White House

This editorial is brought to you by a staff writer for Law Enforcement Today.

WASHINGTON, DC – Did you hear about the new way for local government to generate revenue?

After businesses began pulling out of cities overtaken by liberals, socialists and left-wing mobs, leaders had to come up with a new way, a creative strategic initiative, to pay the bills since tax revenue had been depleted.

Leaders are apparently taking a piece from the NASCAR playbook and putting business sponsor logos on roadways in massive letters. Like sponsor logos, but different. And they’re starting in Washington, D.C.

Wait, that can’t be what’s happening. If they promoted one “political party,” “movement,” or “cause,” they’d have to give fair exposure to all others, right?

Not in Washington, D.C. apparently.

Welcome to the “new” America.

Pastor Rich Penkoski, former judge advocate general Chris Sevier, and D.C. lobbyist Tex Christopher are leading the way with a lawsuit against the Mayor of Washington, D.C., Muriel Bowser, who last week ordered “Black Lives Matter” to be painted in large letters on the street two block down from the White House (Washington Examiner).

Here’s the truth: Black lives do matter. They do. And right now, maybe we need to give a bit more of an ear to the conversation and listen.

But for the Mayor of Washington, D.C. to order the street-sized letters to be painted on the roadways funded by taxpayer dollars, while not permitting other causes to be represented in the same manner, is not just nor is it fair.

Not to mention, it’s not a good use of taxpayer money. Especially right now on the heels of a near-national economical shut down.

The mixed messages sent by Mayor Muriel Bowser are unhealthy for our nation and further divide people of all races. Now is the time to promote a message of unity, to create conversations that lead to healing, and help move our nation forward.

Yes, all lives do matter, but the actions of Mayor Bowser take away from the message that black lives matter by inciting anger and rage in the hearts of a nation on edge.

Why? Because it promotes a message that other lives are less valuable, meaningful, and it promotes a racist response to a tinderbox of inflamed emotions of Americans everywhere.

According to a report by the Washington Times, the lawsuit states:

“The Black Lives Matter banner conveys that black people are the favored race of the city of D.C., which is of course a racist contention floated by a racist Democrat who persistently refuses to think logically.”

The lawsuit also asks for flag banners to rotate if they need to be there at all.

For example, one flag would say “black lives matter,” then the next block’s flag would say “blue lives matter” for police then “green lives matter” for the National Guard, and finally “all lives matter.”

A nice thought. But I think we all know what would happen to three out of the four types of flags, based on the weeks of rioting and vandalism to anything that goes against the “black lives matter” narrative.

According to the lawsuit, Mayor Bowser violated citizens’ First Amendment rights by commissioning the mural and showing preference to the “Black Lives Matter cult orthodoxy.”

Originally when the mural was put in place, Bowser said:

“There are people who are craving to be heard and to be seen, and to have their humanity recognized, and we had the opportunity to send that message loud and clear on a very important street in our city.”

Well that’s nice.

Where was Mayor Bowser’s zeal to promote the lives of humanity during Police Week? What about Mayor Bowser’s passion for the lives of children being trafficked for sex? What about Mayor Bowser’s desire to bring awareness to the millions of children killed through abortion?

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Murdered officer's grave desecrated before headstone even placed

You see, this takes away from the message and demonizes the lives of cops, while further dividing our nation in the midst of crisis. Yes, it is a waste of taxpayer money, but it is also a demonstration of poor leadership.

The watchdog group Judicial Watch announced that they are requesting permission from Mayor Bowser and DC Attorney General Karl Racine to paint the phrase “Because No One is Above the Law!” on a Capitol Hill street, on Independence Ave, SW between 2nd and 4th Streets SW).

The requests states that the lettering would be the same size and color as the “Black Lives matter” and “Defund the Police” messages.

Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said:

“Mayor Bowser made a decision to turn DC streets into a forum for public expression. Judicial Watch seeks equal access to use this new forum to educate Americans by painting our organization’s motto and motivation, ‘Because No One Is Above the Law!,’ on a Capitol Hill street.

“This rule of law message is timely, as it a reminder that rule of law applies to – and protects – all Americans. If we are unlawfully denied access and face viewpoint discrimination, we are prepared to go to court to vindicate our First Amendment rights.”

As of the time of this writing, no response to Judicial Watch has been given.

It’s time we have some conversations, and not behind keyboards and computer screens. Rather, it’s time we have some conversations, like grown adults, like Americans, face to face. Let’s work through the issues, find solutions to the problems that are present, and stop wasting taxpayer money on street-sized letters promoting one cause over another.

Honor the lives of fallen officers, honor the history of our nation, admit the life of every American is valuable and matters, and provide a place for liberty, and justice, for all.

—

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About The Author

Lizzy Murica is writing under a pseudonym for safety reasons. She has spent her adult career life protecting innocents, especially children. She assists with training community members in churches, schools and civic events in the realm of self-defense and community protection and preparedness. Through one nonprofit, she also helps bring situational awareness training to schools, churches, and individuals. In addition, she works with nonprofits that work to help veterans and public servants with issues of PTSD and suicide. Lizzy lives in Colorado with her husband and daughter.

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