The man accused of the Monday killing of Sgt. Sean Rios of the Houston Police Department was arrested in February for unlawfully having a gun in his car and was released on a $100 bond.
“Criminals took to the streets with the confidence there is no consequence for their actions,” Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown said, implying State’s Attorney Kim Foxx's reforms have emboldened criminals, especially rioters and looters.
A top NYPD official targeted the justice system in New York City on Tuesday for allowing too many people arrested for gun possession in the borough of Brooklyn to walk out of court without bail set in their cases.
“This situation is untenable: the NYPD needs to get cops out of the social distancing enforcement business altogether,” a statement from Police Benevolent Association president Patrick Lynch said.
LAPD Chief Michel Moore said while crime in Los Angeles is down in almost all categories since the pandemic began and L.A. implemented its stay-at-home order, career criminals are now exploiting the situation, getting arrested over and over with no real consequences.
“The cops are out there making arrests for these burglaries. With the existing law, what’s happening is the individuals are being released immediately and that’s something that ultimately in the end will have to be fixed,” Commissioner Shea said.
Since Jan., 1,482 suspects busted for serious felonies were released without bail only to commit another 846 new crimes.
"To release somebody that is suspected and charged with attempted murder on a police officer for a low amount of bail is outrageous," Beck said.
Bail reform in its current form is not a sustainable solution, just as the previous system was bound to collapse under its own weight.
A New York City man who has been arrested and released from jail six times in six weeks for a variety of minor offenses says that the state's new bail reform law that took effect in early January is "lit."