Democratic Mayor Mike Purzycki attributes drop in crime to supporting police
Wilmington, Del. Mayor Mike Purzycki reacts to the brutal assault of a Delaware jewelry store owner on 'America Reports.'
The Democratic mayor of President Joe Biden's hometown criticized members of his own party for continuing to support defund the police efforts, as a local jewelry store owner was beaten within an inch of his life earlier this month
Wilmington Mayor Michael Purzycki told "America Reports" Friday that defunding calls from fellow Democrats like Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri are "wrongheaded" – and that in his Democrat-majority city, there are only occasional "murmurs" of such. The law enforcement community, Purzycki said, is largely respected by residents and lawmakers.
Delaware's largest city has been somewhat of an anomaly among major cities in that violent crime statistics have dropped year over year – as Fox News reported declines in nearly all major categories except rape.
As recently as 2017, it was ranked by one real estate statistics group as being in the Top-10 most violent cities. Wilmington has long battled gun violence and other crime issues in areas of town, especially along the northeastern stretch of US-13 and south of downtown.
Wilmington, Del. Democratic Mayor Michael Purzycki joins Fox News (Fox News)
The reported drop under Purzycki's leadership comes as other nearby cities like Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Camden continue to be wracked by crime highlighted by spikes in carjackings, shootings, and mass robberies depending on the locality.
Following the assault on jeweler Chang Suh only blocks from the city's main Rodney Square, Purzycki said it would be "inconceivable" that suspect Calvin Ushery won't be eventually charged to the fullest extent.
CCTV video showed Ushery allegedly posing as a customer, then jumping over and repeatedly stomping on Suh's head. Purzycki said that area of downtown is at times criticized for having too many police compared to the adjacent neighborhoods and that it is otherwise extremely safe.
The initial charge of felony theft, he suggested, was law enforcement's way to quickly get Ushery "off the street" while the investigation continued.
Aerial shot of Wilmington, Delaware, over the Christina River. (halbergman via Getty Images)
Of defund-the-police proponents like Bush and other leftists, Purzycki said it "makes sense in theory" to divert more funds to social services as part of a larger public safety strategy. However, police departments should not necessarily be part of that fiscal strategy.
"The trouble is, it ignores the reality that these officers face every day when they go into or they go into the streets. Example, we took we're taking 20% more guns off the street this year than we had this year. And last year was a record. People don't give you the guns. These officers have to chase guys down alleys to get those guns," he said.
"So the idea of, say, let's get social service people in there, it ignores the reality and ignores the humanity of these conditions in very dangerous situations."
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President Biden speaks at the IBM factory in Poughkeepsie, New York. (The Image Direct for Fox News Digital)
On his proverbial neighbor, President Biden – who lives just north of the city proper when he's not at the White House – Purzycki previously told Politico that the president well understands the importance of local political leaders like himself.
Biden knows "that mayors exist really where the rubber meets the road every single day. As important as Congress is, they’re there at a distance. There’s a lot of space between their lives and the lives of people who don’t get the trash collected and people who have crime on their front door," he told the outlet.