Another Leftist Blow to Police Authority [OPINION]

Police in California can no longer count on civilian assistance in making an arrest under a new law signed by Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom.

With the stroke of his pen, Newsom has repealed an age-old law that required any "able-bodied person 18 years of age or older" to assist an officer who requests help during an arrest. The Sacramento Bee says the California Posse Comitatus Act of 1872 made it a misdemeanor that carried a fine of up to $1,000 for refusing to help a police officer who requested assistance during an arrest.

Taken by itself, the repeal of the law doesn't appear to matter all that much. Unless, of course, you are a police officer in need of assistance. When combined with other recent challenges our police officers are faced with, it is another significant blow that serves to undermine police authority.

Take for example when Barack Obama said Cambridge Police officers acted "stupidly" in arresting an African-American man on charges of disorderly conduct in 2009. Or "pigs in a blanket, fry em like bacon." Democrat Elizabeth Warren claims that our criminal justice system is "racist...front to back." Warren also stated that the "Back the Blue" rally in support of slain Massachusetts police officers was “organized by the largest anti-Muslim hate group in America.”

The left and the news media have attempted to convince America that white cops are gunning down young black men at will though no evidence supports the claim. Democrat Hillary Clinton even campaigned on the issue as a candidate for president in 2016: “Maybe I can, by speaking directly to white people, say, look, this is not who we are,” she continued. “We have got to do everything possible to improve policing, to go right at implicit bias.”

Burlington, Vermont City Councilor Perri Freeman has introduced a measure to disarm the police and while she concedes there is little support for the idea right now, she believes it will happen over time as the debate is mainstreamed.

Remember the images of police officers doused with buckets of water as they attempted to perform their duties in New York this summer with little or no recourse available to them? How demoralizing that must have been.

Police officers are harassed at every turn by citizens armed with video cameras and an eagerness to supply a willing accomplice in the news media with 30-second clips of damning video for nationwide broadcast or simply to upload them to social media.

There is clearly an effort by the left to undermine or eliminate local police authority in this country. I shudder when I think about what might replace the police.

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Barry Richard is the host of The Barry Richard Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. Contact him at barry@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @BarryJRichard58. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.