The city of St. Louis is facing a police shortage, including a record number of vacancies, as critics blame left-wing politicians who leaned into the “defund the police” movement.
Ann Dorn, widow of retired police Capt. David Dorn, and retired St. Louis homicide detective Roger Murphy joined “Fox & Friends” on Wednesday to discuss how the “Defund the Police” movement and the rhetoric of The politicians have impacted the city.
Dorn's husband was shot to death in June 2020 while protecting a friend's business from looters, as protests over the death of George Floyd spiraled out of control in major cities.
“No one wants to come to town and be a police officer anymore. It's out of control. We were never like that…until the last five or 10 years,” Murphy said.
Dorn said the Defund the Police movement has had a negative impact on the city's morale and as a result, they are “losing officers left and right.”
2 MISSOURI WOMEN FOUND DEAD IN THE SAME FIREFIGHTER'S HOUSE YEARS APART
St. Louis Democratic Mayor Tishaura Jones speaks at her victory party, Tuesday, April 6, 2021. (Laurie Skrivan/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP, File)
“When [Rep.] Cori Bush and [Mayor] Tishaura Jones called for defunding the police. How does that sound? … Citizens say, 'Well, what does that mean?'” Dorn said, criticizing local officials for putting social workers on the streets and reducing officers' visibility in the community.
“Citizens are suffering. They don't see the police. They want to see the police out there,” Dorn told host Lawrence Jones, who reported live from St. Louis.
Mayor Tishaura Jones recently touted “significant progress” in reducing crime since taking office in 2021.
“With targeted investments in crime prevention, intervention and enforcement, St. Louis experienced a 21 percent reduction in homicides (158 in 2023 compared to 200 in 2022), the lowest homicide rate in a decade and one of highest year-over-year annual reductions in violent crime in 90 years,” the statement from Jones' office read.
David Dorn, a retired police captain, was guarding a friend's pawn shop Monday night when looters shot him to death. (Missouri Department of Public Safety)
The murderer of David Dorn, 77, was found guilty in 2022 and sentenced to life in prison. Dorn had served 38 years with the St. Louis police before spending six years as police chief in Moline Acres, retiring in 2014.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, like many law enforcement agencies across the country, has faced significant layoffs that it has struggled to replace. The department has a budget for 1,224 officers, but has more than 300 vacancies, according to a December report.
“I've never heard of anything that low,” St. Louis Police Officers Association business manager Joe Steiger told the Post-Dispatch.
“When I started in 1995, there were about 1,600 agents, and now there are less than 1,000. That's crazy.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Earlier on the show, Republican state senator Nick Schroer called for the state of Missouri to take control of the city's police force.
“There are 326 vacancies, more than 500 officers have left in the last two years. The plague is spreading to the surrounding communities and is affecting the entire state,” he said.
Fox News' Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.
