East Pittsburgh antwon rose shooting
Marchers move through the streets Saturday, March 23, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pa. The group was calling for justice the day after former East Pittsburgh police officer Michael Rosfeld was acquitted in the homicide trial where he was charged with shooting and killing 17-year-old Antwon Rose II last summer near Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
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Last year, because of the demands of a few radical activists, East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania’s elected officials made the decision to eliminate their local police department. Now, months later, those radical activists are gone along with police.

And the locals are complaining about rising crime and a lack of police presence.

The debate about idling the department boiled over after a police-involved shooting where 17-year-old Antwon Rose was killed. Protesters, many likely from outside of the town, organized mass demonstrations claiming racism played a role in Rose’s death.

The local prosecutor leveled a raft of charges including first-degree murder, third-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, and involuntary manslaughter against Officer Michael Rosfeld.

A jury found him not guilty after a short deliberation, but the borough council didn’t wait for the trial. They voted to shut down the department and turn law enforcement duties over to the staties and their post…  30 miles away.

On the very first day after the department’s closure, residents noticed a big change.  From The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

East Pittsburgh resident Sean Andrejco stood outside a newsstand Friday evening not far from the borough’s police station, feeling that something was missing.

Pennsylvania State Police, who began to patrol East Pittsburgh full time on Saturday, were nowhere to be seen.

No cops to be seen. By residents…or the bad guys.

Indeed, decisions have consequences. Criminals feel emboldened when they perceive a lack of consequences for unlawful behavior. Hard to believe, right?

From Defense Maven:

East Pittsburgh residents gathered on Monday to express their concerns about the rise in violent crime and the lack of police officers patrolling their neighborhood just eight months after they disbanded the East Pittsburgh Police Department.

The East Pittsburgh Borough Council voted to dissolve the borough’s police department in the wake of the officer-involved shooting death of Antwon Rose.

The council notified the Pennsylvania State Police on Nov. 13, 2018 that they were going to need coverage from that agency as of Nov. 30, 2018, while they worked to come up with a long-term solution, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

When the East Pittsburgh Police Department was disbanded, city officials promised they were in the middle of talks to launch a multi-community police force that would cover their territory, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported.

However, residents began complaining about the lack of police presence the day after the East Pittsburgh police shut down when there was no obvious state police presence on their streets.

How bad have things become?  Glad you asked.  From CBS Local KDKA:

East Pittsburgh (KDKA) — A terrifying ordeal for a mother and her three children.

A drive-by shooting in East Pittsburgh last night sent bullets flying into the family’s home, narrowly missing them.

The mother says without a local police force to call, it took over an hour to get help.

The State Police Barracks In Moon now covers East Pittsburgh Borough, nearly 30 miles away…

“It’s bad here, it’s bad in East Pittsburgh,” the mother of three said.

“I think I called 9-1-1 maybe five times before they got there,” the mother said.

The single mom of three is a nurse and is afraid to go on camera.

Today, prudent East Pittsburghers should be seriously consider embracing firearm ownership to protect their homes, families and themselves.

Because obviously, the decision to shutter the city’s police department didn’t reduce the need for proactive, effective policing.  Or response times faster than an hour.  All disbanding the police department accomplished was to embolden the criminal class.  With decisions come consequences.

Meanwhile, ignoring the proven benefits of firearm ownership and armed self-defense has consequences as well.

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120 COMMENTS

  1. Fuck them. They got what what they wanted, and in spades. They wanted no more ‘Racist police!’, and that’s what they got.

    They made their beds, they can sleep in them.

    (Well, when the sound of gunfire from a drive-by doesn’t keep them awake… 😉 )

      • Sometimes the old ideas are the best.

        They could form some type of community group…something like…well I don’t know..a well regulated militia?

    • Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. The citizens allowed their elected officials to make their crime ridden bed for them, now they get to lie in it.

    • Though, remember many of the protestors were “out of towners,” which have a tendency to be paid and serve political agendas that have nothing to do with the needs of the community. What the residents need to do is vote out the a-holes who made the decisions, and tell the Soros paid agitators to f off.

      Though, those paid agitators have already left, haven’t they? Just like the sites of other such actions, they aren’t around to suffer the damage to the community.

      • The agitators are either hanging out at their liberal university campuses, or living in their rich (white) parents basements out in suburbia somewhere. Very doubtful that they are agitating in their own communities.

      • The article above only says that the agitators were ‘likely’ from out of town, is there actual evidence that the protests were led by folks from out of town?

        If they’re ready to hire some police officers, here’s one in Texas who is probably looking for a new job today:

        “”As the officer called out to the woman repeatedly concerning her welfare, the dog began to run towards the officer while barking. The officer retreated backwards from the running dog while drawing his duty firearm,” police said. “The officer discharged his firearm multiple times towards the dog. After the shots were fired, the woman yelled out and it was apparent she was injured.”

        Turns out he shot her dead while trying to shoot the dog for barking.

        • Antwon Rose was a gangster the officer that shot could be considered a hero. It is very stupid and racist to defund the police. I’m a Black man myself.

      • Don’t assume most people on TTAG hate cops. It’s a good thing to have a large city close its law enforcement down. Sometimes a fool needs to be hit across the head to wake them the hell up.

        This news will spread to other cities who are thinking about doing the same stupid thing. But it is a very Libertarian thing to do.

        • My comment was for those in East Pittsburgh who wanted no police and ended up with no law.

    • I disagree, there are many law abiding citizens who have been caught up in the political decision to disband the police force.
      So fuckem just doesn’t cut it for me.
      Too many innocent people are caught up in this bad decision.

      I don’t know what the conceal Carry laws are there , but I recommend pursuing that avenue to protect one self here. It’s bad enough when police are only minutes away but now it’s like an hour if you’re lucky.
      I feel for the residents of this place.

      • As the quote goes, “The decisions made by anti-religion/ anti gun liberals become hypocritical when they are the ones set upon by criminal elements, Now, they call for the guys that carry a gun and Pray they get there in time.” God Bless Texas, God Bless America and God Bless President and First Lady Trump. hooyah

      • I wonder how many of those poor mistreated citizens showed up at council meetings before this happened to voice their concerns. I agree with the former comment “fuck em”!!!!!!

    • Be careful what you pray for; you may get it. I can but hope that PA and the respective county are “Shall Issue” locations. Time to sign up for gun safety and competence classes folks. Please attribute any misspellings to the fact that I’m laughing uncontrollably as I type this!

    • Police are a relatively new concept and in my opinion over rated. Police were largely unknown 125 years ago
      These guy just need to man up and deal with their crime themselves. I am sure the local sheriff will be happy to detain any survivors for trial.

    • Got what they wanted, in spades? Freudian slip? At any rate, that’s funny. Well played, even if inadvertently.

    • “Fuck them. They got what what they wanted, and in spades. They wanted no more ‘Racist police!’, and that’s what they got.”

      You said “spades”, heh heh heh…

    • When will the black communities at large take responsibility for their own actions, instead of blaming “whitey” for the criminal activities that take place on a daily basis within their own ranks? Billions of dollars have been spent by politicians (greedy for the black vote) on black communities (Baltimore is a prime example), yet these vast amounts of money have bred only more criminals who on a percentage basis are responsible for filling our over-crowded prisons and burdening both black and white taxpayers with the responsibility of paying for the debacle. Looks as if Lyndon Johnson’s “War on Poverty” was a bad idea, not so?

  2. Who would have thought the place would quickly devolve into some third world shithole once “racist” police are missing?

    Apparently they didnt. Maybe they should stop avoiding the truth and instead work on fixing the realities instead of labeling everything racist because they don’t want to accept the facts.

    • “Who would have thought the place would quickly devolve into some third world shithole once “racist” police are missing?”

      As a member of the POTG. most of us did.

      “Apparently they didnt.”

      This is the fundamental difference between the political Left and the Right.

      Leftists believe they can easily create a ‘Fantasy Land’ where people are naturally nice and kind to each other (if only those “Evil guns” can be removed from society), while Conservatives live in the ‘Realville’ wreckage of Leftist political policies, where the strongest prey on the weakest with impunity.

      It’s the natural extension of the ‘No bad dogs.’ (lack of) mentality.

      “Leftists. I *hate* political Leftists.”

      (What the ‘Blues Brothers’ should have said…)

  3. Allow me to play the world’s smallest violent for the East Pittsburgh activists who are whining now that they finally have what they wanted.

  4. Only the Police and Military can be trusted with guns.

    BUT…the military, ONLY when they are overseas. Here they should be disarmed.

    It’s just common sense. Or something.

    • How did that work out at Fort Hood? The military personnel was not allowed to carry arms and the radical jihadist had a field day. Of course, that was just work place violence, per the Obama Administration

      • Everything should be labeled workplace violence. Maybe then, we can’t start to realize that workplaces aren’t any different than your home, considering you spend 1/3+ of your day there.

      • It wasn’t workplace violence and it wasn’t terrorism either. It was violent attack on military personnel involved in a military operation on a military base by a professional military operative turncoat. To call it anything other than a military attack by a sworn enemy soldier is to minimize the significance.

        • It WAS technically terrorism because part of the attacker’s motivation was to instill fear in the victims during the act of killing.
          During one of my deployments we had a Muslim soldier along with us who was to assist his/our unit with the interrogation/debriefing of captives who may have been associated with Al Qaeda operating with the Taliban. This “American” soldier was removed from his assignment for verbalizing his sympathy with the ideological and philosophical ideas of the captive fighters. Command tried to mitigate the circumstances saying his Zoloft prescription aggravated his behavior and it relly didn’t have much to do with his Islamic heritage. Prior to his being relieved of duty his issued M9 sidearm was taken away despite the politically correct bullshit being thrown our way regarding his behavior.
          I’ve been shot at, rocketed, and mortared along with being pelted with PC BS in the military. After 30-some years I realized people will think you’re stupid and intentionally piss on your back while telling you it’s raining.

    • Say WHAT? Law-abiding gun owners (such as me) who have been trained by such organizations as the NRA have no problem defending ourselves. 5,000,000 NRA members? Ever hear of one being accused or convicted of a crime?

    • As the guy spoke about just Police and the Military having guns, is he as crazzy as he sounds. no second ammendment rights, yeah ok, dont come near my house, there is a lead poisoning alert around my house.
      As to the Military with guns in the US, have our President ship a C130 full of troops to Portland, Chicago and Atlanta to get this BS cleared up.

  5. In the absence of police, America’s gun owners will live safer lives than those who traded their swords for plowshares.

    Yes, it’s almost as if criminals feel emboldened by a perceived lack of consequences for their criminal behaviors…

    Funny how that works.

    A gun in the hand beats a cop parked at the police station 30 miles away..

    • “A gun in the hand beats a cop parked at the police station 30 miles away..”

      But, but, John, *everybody* knows that gun will ‘just go off’ and kill everyone in a fifty-mile radius!

      • Maybe John Wick’s gun… after you killed his puppy. Funny though how his bullets will only strike the evil-doers and safely pass by the innocents.

        I know this because I’ve seen the movies with my own eyes!

  6. I call it a great first step

    Noe the state police should slowly decrease their patrols until its REAL BAD, REAL FICKING BAD and this make national headlines

    SO CALLED Racist cops gone=city falls apart

    • A policy that would only result in an extreme public backlash calling for a massive police–if not national guard–presence; complete with curfews, firearm confiscations, and all the trappings of a police state.

      Yeah, no thanks.

      • Jonathan, you have to admit, it would make an *outstanding* ‘teachable moment’…

      • A policy that would only result in an extreme public backlash calling for a massive police–if not national guard–presence; complete with curfews, firearm confiscations, and all the trappings of a police state.

        no it would not at all.

  7. But, but, but………I thought that laws and police don’t prevent crime? They’re only after the fact actions. “Deterrence” is an invalid concept. Criminals will act as they will regardless of consequences (despite all evidence to the contrary).

    It must be true, because I’ve read that REPEATEDLY on TTAG from the staff and self-styled experts in the comments. Could they have been wrong all this time? Will anyone own up to it?

    *shake* *shake* *shake*

    Magic Eight Ball says “Dude? Are you F’ing kidding me???!!!”

    Ok, now let the butt hurt crowd unleash their fury and sophistry upon me. Have fun!

    • “But, but, but………I thought that laws and police don’t prevent crime?”

      I’ll bite. 😉

      LAWS rarely do, as current murder rates clearly demonstrate…

    • Ok, now let the butt hurt crowd unleash their fury and sophistry upon me. Have fun!

      No one is “butthurt.” I think we all feel sorry for you since your just unpacked a series of strawman arguments. I think we just pity you for have a below average IQ and showcasing it here. Where were you educated? I suggest a refund since you certainly would fail stats 101 or logic 101.

      EG your statrements:
      I thought that laws and police don’t prevent crime? They’re only after the fact actions.

      Who has said that here? What people here note is the Bureau of justice Statistics (BJS) numbers that indicate about 2% of violent crimes IN PROGRESS are stoppled by police before or as they occur. Persons who are armed prevent somewhere between 300,000 and three million crimes per year which is why firearms owners and their family members, who are not themselves criminals, are about 30% safer than persons like you who claim there is not Second Amendment right.

      “Deterrence” is an invalid concept. Criminals will act as they will regardless of consequences (despite all evidence to the contrary).

      Again this is a strawman and a red herring tacked on.
      Police activity and impact on crime is not what you think it is. it consists of a) a small amount of direct intervention, b) certain amount of small deterrence from presence and visibility, and c) especially in jurisdictions with strong sentencing, a LARGE amount of crime prevention y locking people who have committed up and preventing them committing crime for the time they are locked up (about 90% of US crime is committed by a repeat cohort of 1.7% of the population of repeat criminal, which is why as incarceration rates rise, violent crime drops.)

      Could they have been wrong all this time? Will anyone own up to it?

      Own up to what? You seem to not know that polcie activity is multi functional. The fact that they stop only 1/50th of crime in progress means they can’t help you if you are being victimized, while your having a gun will make you a lot safer from victimization. But that cops do stop a lot of subsequent crime by arresting the perp. how that too complex for you to understand even if you never did make it past grade school?

    • Jonathan – Houston,

      The veracity of your statement totally depends on the extent to which you or anyone else claims that police and laws prevent crime.

      First off, when laws and police incarcerate criminals, we know that laws and police (and courts) indeed prevent the crimes that those incarcerated violent criminals would have committed in the future had they been free among us. Meanwhile, all the criminals who are NOT incarcerated continue to commit millions of crimes every year.

      Second, we know that very few criminals will commit a serious crime right in front of police. Therefore, police will prevent most crimes that would have happened if the police officer had not been there. And this would be an exceedingly small number since many/most criminals will simply wait a short time for the police to move on and then carry out their violent crime anyway. And police are almost never at the location where/when a criminal wants to commit a crime. Hence we see that criminals commit millions of crimes every year.

      Finally, a small number of people who want to commit crimes will choose not to commit those crimes because legal sanctions, if discovered and prosecuted for their crime, outweighs the perceived gain. And yet we still see millions of crimes every year.

      So, police and laws do prevent SOME crimes.

      And yet we still experience millions of crimes every year which police and laws clearly failed to prevent. Therefore, police and laws absolutely fail to prevent SOME crimes.

      However, that is not what gun-grabbers are pushing on us. Rather, gun-grabbers are pushing a narrative which says police and laws will prevent virtually all crimes — and we will thus be far safer and experience far fewer violent crimes — if we just give up our firearms. That is what we are contesting and that is the context where we say that laws and police do not prevent crimes. In other words laws and police are not the panacea for violent crime which gun-grabbers are claiming.

    • Jonathan – Houston,

      Now that I just posted a long response to your comment, I realized a much shorter comment is necessary in response to your comment.

      Quite simply, laws are not the major factor which prevents crime. Rather, the presence of someone who will immediately neutralize a criminal and guarantee a really bad result (both immediate and long-term) for that criminal is what actually prevents crime. In other words it is the presence of an armed person who will vigorously oppose that criminal which prevents crime. Whether or not that armed person is wearing a costume (police uniform) or has the power of the state behind him/her is immaterial.

    • @jonathan,
      You are either deliberately being dishonest or idiotically demonstrating ignorance.
      The odds of police being where you are or getting to you to stop a crime on you are 2%.
      Unless a cop is your roommate they are not going to be they to stop a home invasion in which you are raped or assaulted. Just as they don’t arrive in time to stop a robbery with violence, nor a group of thugs slamming your head on the pavement.

      That is a different issue than police investigating crime, catching and being a key part in jailing criminals or greater numbers of police and police activity detering crime.

      Your (il)logic would mean you think it is wrong to have a for a person to have a fire extinguisher (to crime prevention the analog of a gun) in their housing since there is a fire department, or alternately that if people argue for fire extinguishers, they are arguing against fire departments.

      TTAG is not arguing against legal gun ownership or carry, nor for elimination of policing. The gun ban advocates like yourself are – despite a mountain of evidence that your model will increase violent crime by millions of incidents.

  8. “…if you got a joint bubblin’ then get money now/
    ’cause in a minute there’s gonna be some real trouble comin’ down/
    this is a warning, as usual some cats won’t heed it/
    The hardheaded always gotta feel it to believe it/
    It’s a shame that the jealous gaze is to short to see it/
    But when they face hit the cement… they nod in agreement…”

  9. Who’d a thunk it? When the cops are away the thugs come out to play. Of course, I’ve always advocated “neighbor, arm thyself.” Cops or no cops.

  10. Just looked at their Wiki…under 2000 population. Or “why” they’re NOT a priority! Raciss😄😊😏

  11. Before you talk about the people complaining for lack of police presence, just remember they were probably the ones who didn’t want it to happen in the first place.

  12. Well, until it becomes legal to just shoot ganbangers and call the coroner to bag ’em, this will continue to be a problem. Funny how my brown ass has never had any problems with the police. Maybe because I don’t hang out with criminals and don’t make an ass out of myself.

    • A wise man once pointed that if you hang out with criminals, sooner or later you will be a witness, an accomplice, or a victim.

    • I understood that you are of Ukrainian descent, Serge. Do you sunbath a lot or do yout talk about your donkey? 😁

  13. Yep if the town still had cops this woman could have had some overpaid government thugs standing around scratching themselves before they wrote the report an hour sooner.

    • I think it’s fair to call Mallory a moron without violating TTAG commenting policy. Moron, they got what you wanted, a community without cops, and they are getting it good and hard. Only a moron would continue to say abolish the cops when abolishing the cops has led to chaos. I thing Mallory is a wannabe gsngbanger, at least when you are behind a keyboard. Now STFU and run along.

      • There was a section of a suburb in SW Sydney that wanted no police in their area. When it was pointed out that no police also meant no electricity, water, sewerage, postal service, garbage collection, and above all no welfare, they changed their tune very fast.

        I doubt they realized that their no law zone would be a haven for criminals far worse than they previously dealt with and would prey on them with total impunity.

  14. There are a handful of commenters on this site who swear up and down that police aren’t necessary, are only revenue generators, and communities wouldn’t miss them if they were gone. Funny how it doesn’t work like that in real life.

    • You assume they want the total abolishment of the concept rather than the socialized political force that we know as law enforcement. Who in their right mind would want private security to be illegal?

      Have you seen the Mexican tribes that got rid of the federal government and their police force? The community setup their own system and the people have machine guns. So far it’s working. They don’t have gangsters running their city anymore, be it the corrupt establishment government or cartels.

      Remember America hasn’t had a police state for that long. They did have lots of guns though.

      • The best example from Mexico is the Mormon town Mitt Romney’s dad was born in.

        Does it’s own security and masses on the cartel dudes so badly that the cartels stay clear of the area around the town. Last time the cartels attacked they even used a couple of helicopters to support their technicals and what passes for cartel infantry. They thought they could overwhelm the Mormons really quickly.

        Instead they lost both birds and a third of their technicals in the first few minutes and withdrew.

        Mormons didn’t just have MGs emplaced. They had mortars, RPGs and even some MANPADs for those whirlybirds.

        There’s something to be said for having the twin abilities to honestly say “I got somethin’ for ya” while also not actually saying it.

  15. “East Pittsburgh Shut Down its Police Department. Now Residents Regret the Decision.”

    Oh well, fuck them…that’s what they get for knee-jerk politics…

    • That applies to everything.

      There has to be a transitional period not an abrupt change people didn’t plan out. They could have transitioned into a private security force rather than throwing everything away when they don’t even own guns.

      • Aside from having less authority how would a private security force be any different than the police? My solution would be a citizens Militia empowered by the city. I wonder how many people would show up for duty. We know Mallory wouldn’t.

        • Well, if people feel the need to have “police” they can hire a private company to provide similar services like gated communities do. That way they don’t have to own and carry guns. Of course the best thing to do is to own and carry guns, but some people are very passive and submissive.

          I would agree a community militia that is directly accountable to the people is better. It can also be used to help boys transition into men. It would be cheaper to have the men do local patrols to keep criminals from coming around.

          But you can have a combination of both. Private security services and a community watch militia. The private security contractors can be used for things like recovering stolen cars like they do in Africa. The militia can be used to secure neighborhoods from home invasions, looting and other aggressive attacks.

          I would totally show up to protect private businesses and homes from criminals using my AK. I would be cool with carrying my handgun on me when I go around the neighborhood getting some sun and cardio in. I’m not cool with writing parking tickets or arresting a kid who does a burnout — I pass on that.

        • ” I’m not cool with writing parking tickets or arresting a kid who does a burnout — I pass on that.”

          The more of that crap you allow, the further they will push to see where the limits are.

          Google “Broken-window policing”…

        • I am not going to say that you wouldn’t do it on a nice sunny afternoon but what about in the winter when it’s zero or on a hot summer night? Our historical experience with militias is not very good when it comes to reporting for duty. You can find yourself in High Noon situation without Hollywood script writers to bail you out. And what makes you think you can do a better job? It’s easy to police from behind a keyboard or nice very low crime area but what about in a gang ridden community?

          And citing the African experience does not make your case.

        • @Geoff WWJWD

          In Asia they do a good job of being respectful.

          Japanese car guys would drift in the streets in industrial areas at night or in the secluded mountains. When the general public shows up they move out of the way. They have a pretty good system for safety and respect.

          Hard to believe that some people can have fun and not mess things up?

          I know in America they copied the Japanese culture but they brought their American attitude along, which makes for a situation where they do donuts in the middle of a busy intersection or close down a freeway to film for their social media. Those youth have never been taught respect and are selfish attention seekers.

  16. If you don’t want them to do it because they can’t do it right, you have to do it yourself.

    If you want something done right, do it yourself.

  17. Usually shutdowns mean they contract local sheriff dept instead of having a chief and a few police.

    Looks like someone forgot to arrange this. Usual government efficiency.

    • “Usually shutdowns mean they contract local sheriff dept instead of having a chief and a few police.”

      Read the fucking article referenced, that’s what happend, except the Pennsylvania Highway Patrol took over the duty.

      “Looks like someone forgot to arrange this. Usual government efficiency.”

      Wrong again, see the article above…

  18. This is sort of like partial deregulation. Sure, the cops aren’t around but rest assured if any folks in that neighborhood try picking up the slack the cops will definitely show up to arrest them. Its easy to say something isn’t working when people are prohibited from doing that thing. Shocking, good people abide the law. Unfortunately to their own detriment.

    • That’s right. The locals don’t have the police around, but they also can’t act as if there was no police and take the garbage out themselves. Thay are stuck in the middle of the road where they get hurt, as the Karate Kid’s sensei would say.

      I still don’t see how could the police help the family in the article by reacting faster. Did I miss something? Like the drive by guys camping in front of the house? Or maybe circling around the block and popping couple of rounds into the house every time they passed by?
      No? So no one was hit, the perp is long gone, this is low priority, send an officer when you can spare one, to write a report.

  19. I heard Bloomberg is willing to support some community organizers hanging out on the street corners to keep the peace….as long as they’re unarmed and advertise that fact.

  20. Oh the irony. Kinda, sorta funny since imdont live there … or near there.

    I defer to Red Foreman on their decision leading to their new concern.

  21. If you delete your police force I guess you can expect a “lack of police presence.” Strange but true.

  22. BE VERY CAREFUL WHAT YOU RASHLY REQUEST, YOU JUST MIGHT GET IT. Don’t let the national Democrats coerce you into thinking everything is racial. IT ISN”T! And don’t think all mistakes or accidents are racial. That’s another Democrat stunt. Rats in a Baltimore neighborhood isn’t racial, it’s rats in a Baltimore neighborhood. And Cummings should stop trying to play Senator and concern himself with his district. So should Pelosi. Let’s demand her tax returns as concerned citizens.

  23. Back when I was growing up. The police presence was miles away from our town. They were usually only called to come clean up the mess or take what was left of the perp to jail or the morgue. The MEN of the community took care of dealing with thugs and the like. Seems to me a return to those times and values would go a long way to solving many of the problems communities have today. I reference “No One Saw A Thing” a mini series on the Sundance channel starting today. I remember when this happened. The Problem was solved. Keep Your Powder Dry.

  24. And still you keep listening to this handful of big mouthed radical racists who have a very obvious agenda! How’s that workin for ya now morons?

  25. On the bright side… for those that choose to be their own first responders and take out the bad guys, they’ve got over an hour to settle down and get their stories straight before the police finally show up.

    A small gift, but gratefully received.

  26. This is wonderful!
    I look forward to reading Reason and other Libertarian opinions on this “Great Leap Forward” in reducing the size of GOVERNMENT.

    • Plenty of combat veterans willing to work in Kabul or Baghdad as armed contractors. I suppose that they could find 500 that would be willing to work in Baltimore, for the right $$$.

      • Most of those Democrat controlled heavens on Earth like Chicago or Detroit are flat broke. No matter how much they over tax their citizens and businesses, they always end up bankrupt. Where would they get the “right money”?

  27. People forget one rather important point, that being as follows. By the way, the point I refer to is as follows, and is a point that various courts have reiterated time and time again. “The Police Are Not There To Protect The Individual Nor To Render Any Particular Service to The Individual. They Are There To Protect Society.” Readers are welcome to figure out where that leaves the individual, and or exactly what that means.

    • On your own…..just like always.

      Cops are there to ensure due process. That usually, but not always, means counting bodies and taking statements

    • It means they a filter between you and the guys. Without the police you face all of it as the town of East Pittsburg has found out. Good luck with that.

  28. Well, they got exactly what they wanted. Why are police departments in large metro areas nationwide lacking police and can’t get qualified lateral transfer officer to apply? It’s simple, those experienced officers can get jobs in smaller communities with better or equal pay, better benefits and none of the political harassment. Officers retiring from big cities aren’t staying either. Over 700 retired L.A.P.D. & Sheriff’s office deputies have moved to Idaho. That says something, that they value quality of life. I am not racist, but I won’t dismiss facts. Every large American city with a large minority population is in decline. Fraud, waste, abuse of office and Millions in debt with no stable or expanding economic plan, because of democratic leadership. So when standing in a sewer, don’t bend over and roll in it. Smart people get up and move away for a better life. Want to stay living in filth, fear, crime and poverty, keep voting democrat.

    • I think TTAG should let Wally1 write the first of maybe 10-14 responses tops so that the rest of us get the truth without listening to excessive whining and bitching of others on this forum.

    • You hit the nail on the proverbial head, brother. And that’s exactly why I passed up large metro agencies when I got out of the military in favor of some of the medium sized ones. Wasn’t perfect but a lot of the P.C. interference of the large cities was avoided and worked out well for 24 years. BUT… unfortunately the P.C. nonsense did eventually catch up with us too and continues to this day at my former department. Indeed, sad to say that it’s only gotten worse since when I retired from it 15 years ago. I should add that I did initially work for an S.O. as a deputy for a couple years and it was alright until election time when we were all expected to become politicians too. No thanks!

  29. East Shitsburg what a Cozy Little Toilet it must be. You had a Town now you have a Shitty – Enjoy All the Crap!

  30. Don’t be hard on the citizens of East Pittsburgh, it was not the hard working law abiding citizens that demonstrated, and protested the police, it was the loud mouths, the rabble rousers, who do not think of consequences, just knee jerk responses to their hyperbole. The squeaky wheel always get the grease. Now that the city leaders have seen what their impulsive, cave to the Mob has wrought, perhaps cooler heads will reverse this travesty, and once again fulfill their primary legislative responsibility of providing a safe community to live in, by restoring the local police force.

  31. The really bad thing about this situation is that we PA taxpayers have to provide Police Protection to a area previously patrolled by their own Police Department.The PA State Police are understaffed and thinly spread throughout their areas.These areas should be taxed further to hire and train more State Police .We live in a small town with it’s own department.This requires 47 % of our annual budget.The adjoining township gets SP coverage,plus we have to help with our mutual aide agreement.The township has no local property tax so therefore free police protection courtesy of the rest of PA taxpayers.

  32. Pittsburg is a leftist area filled with gun grabbers. No guns and no cops, let them call their fascist antifa pals when they need help.

    • Was just about to do a post on this, and saw your comment! One question I had after seeing this story: If you’re black, and you get stopped by the police in a majority black neighborhood, is it still racial profiling?

  33. Only thing not addressed is “where did the money go?”
    Takes $$ to run a PD, so where is the money at now?

  34. Schadenfreude (/ˈʃɑːdənfrɔɪdə/; German: [ˈʃaːdn̩ˌfʁɔʏ̯də]; lit. ‘harm-joy’) is the experience of pleasure, joy, or self-satisfaction that comes from learning of or witnessing the troubles, failures, or humiliation of another.

  35. Several cities out west have done this sucessfully. They just hand off enforcent to the Sherriff. Being elected, Sherriffs are of course far more responsive to the needs of the community.

    Somehow they handed off enforcemnt to the State Police instead? Not a recipe for sucess.

  36. Thus “article” provides no facts. It provides no sources. This is an editorial at best but not journalism.

    Also, the fact the police force lost its insurance was why they closed not because of protestors.

    If the protesters are powerful enough to close a police department shows how ineffectual the police and city government was.

  37. Protesters of the Law are almost Always:
    Criminals, Relatives of Criminals (usually in Denial), Lawyers running an angle, Politicians running an angle or Brains washed Sheeple (egged on by the last two mentioned) that cannot think past what they are told by what ever source they have come to think they can trust.

    Easy to see the truth. No Law = No Law!

    You… are a Dog, Sheep, or Wolf.
    Figure it out.

  38. I think we should pull all the police outta the sh*tholes who wanna defund. Then let em suffer for a while screaming for police protection that never comes!

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