JASON RANTZ

Rantz: Seattle cop says ‘yesterday I was a hero,’ now have ‘bullseye on my back’

Jun 11, 2020, 6:56 PM | Updated: Jun 12, 2020, 11:16 am

The Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone took control of the East Precinct. Now, cops are looking to leave Seattle. (Photo: Jason Rantz) The Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone took control of the East Precinct. Now, cops are looking to leave Seattle. (Photo: Jason Rantz) The Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone took control of the East Precinct. Now, cops are looking to leave Seattle. (Photo: Jason Rantz) The Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone took control of the East Precinct. Now, cops are looking to leave Seattle. (Photo: Jason Rantz) The Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone took control of the East Precinct. Now, cops are looking to leave Seattle. (Photo: Jason Rantz) The Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone took control of the East Precinct. Now, cops are looking to leave Seattle. (Photo: Jason Rantz) The Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone took control of the East Precinct. Now, cops are looking to leave Seattle. (Photo: Jason Rantz) The Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone took control of the East Precinct. Now, cops are looking to leave Seattle. (Photo: Jason Rantz)

Antifa, anarchists, and community activists in and out of the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone have a new enemy: Seattle police officers. Actually, all police officers. Whether you’re a cop in the Seattle Police Department or in Bellevue, Everett, Spokane or Bellingham, you’re now judged by the actions of Minneapolis Officer Derek Chauvin. He’s a murderer, no doubt. But now, apparently, he represents all cops everywhere.

Enabled by a virulently anti-police Seattle City Council, these activists aren’t just taking over parts of the city, pretending the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone is anything more than a bunch of children playing fort. They’re now pushing a dangerous anti-cop narrative that is leading to officers in this country being murdered or seriously injured.

And in Seattle, it’s pushing cops to not just quit the Seattle Police Department, but leave the city.

Rantz: ‘Ashamed’ of department, Seattle cop explains why it’s time to quit

Seattle police speak out after Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone

Officers in the region are reaching out to me to tell their stories. The Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone was the last straw for so many. There aren’t many places where these officers are given the opportunities, in their own words, to speak out.

City policy won’t even let them freely post content on their private social media accounts. If you say the wrong thing, take the wrong position on the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, Seattle progressives will come for your job.

So I offer more space to a brave cop to speak out about what this movement is doing to the job this cop loves, in a city he no longer feels welcome in.

Yesterday I was a hero, today I have a bullseye on my back.

I’ve been a cop for [several] years, and I’ve never felt so alienated by my community. I can’t go through a drive-through, and I’m scared to order at a restaurant in uniform. I’m scared because I don’t know who is going to spit in my food because they hate my uniform. It doesn’t matter who I am as a person, the second I put on my uniform, I’m just a target.

Working for an agency who lets me take my police car home every day, I’m also scared that I’m a target off duty. Everyone in my building knows that I’m a cop, and they know which door is mine. In the past that was seen as a good thing because it kept people from breaking into the parking garage, but these days I come home expecting my door to have been kicked in or notes of hate left on my door.

For those who forget what we do every day, let me tell you about what I’ve done nearly every day of my career. I’ve arrested men who have beaten women for no reason. I’ve arrested people for chronically stealing from local businesses. I’ve arrested people for robbery, rape, burglary, assault, driving drunk and high. These arrests are made to keep the community safe. It’s not just when they get caught, they repeatedly victimize all of us.

If people want no police, I encourage them to endure even just a week of lawlessness. Everything would burn. Murders would skyrocket. Ever seen The Purge?

Everyone I work with (yes … everyone) are well-intentioned people with the highest level of integrity. We all condemn what happened in Minneapolis. It was wrong. No reasonable person is defending them, even cops.

If you want to fundamentally destroy our country keep it up. Cops are walking off the job. Cops are being assaulted for wearing a uniform, and being murdered in ambush style assaults because why? People are instigated into believing a narrative about them which is just simply false.

When I go to an overdose I get there faster than the fire department because I drive a faster car. I administer Narcan and CPR to save your life faster than the fire department does. Let’s also not forget that the fire department and paramedics refuse to respond to shootings, stabbings and serious assaults without law enforcement to protect them. We start care the second we get there, not 5-10 minutes later like fire. That’s not a bash on fire, but they aren’t equipped to handle violent people.

Are you are willing to let people die in the name of ‘defund the police.’

Just a reminder to the general public, I’m the person standing behind you at Safeway and Costco buying groceries like everyone else. I’m also the person going for a run past you, getting gas at Shell, and buying coffee at Starbucks. I’m not wearing a uniform so you don’t know I’m a cop.

But I’m also the person carrying a gun that you can’t see, ready to give my life for you and to protect innocent people from needless violence. That’s the character we all have.

My family asks me daily to quit my job because they don’t want me to be the next line of duty death. Every day I put on my uniform and am instantly angry because I think of how ignorant people are, and I think to myself, “If not me, who will answer the call.”

If you don’t want me, I hope you have another number other than 911 when the next mass shooting happens. Perhaps your neighbor will help you when you’re beaten half to death, perhaps a social worker will help you when your house gets burglarized and nothing is left. If you don’t want the police, stop calling 911.

Just like there are bad teachers, doctors, plumbers, electricians, and lawyers, there are bad cops. There always will be because there’s a human element. We aren’t perfect, and we always try to be better. But to paint with a large brush an entire group of 800,000+ people as racist, heavy handed, or murderers is such an overreach it’s deplorable.

Last time I checked, the barista that messed up your order didn’t make you hate everyone who worked at Starbucks. Call that a broad comparison, but I’m just using the same logic.

I grew up in Seattle and I’ve served this community for years. I am proud of my service and will continue to serve, even against the small loud group of people who will never appreciate the service they are entitled to every day. But I can’t live in this city anymore.

So congratulations Seattle. I’m leaving. And I couldn’t be happier. I want to be able to go home without fear of having to have my home burned, car vandalized, or family threatened.

How many more Seattle police officers is the city ready to lose? I fear 2018’s mass exodus will look like nothing compared to this. Is the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone worth it?

Watch: Jason Rantz tackle the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone on FOX News

Listen to the Jason Rantz Show weekday afternoons from 3-6 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (or HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow @JasonRantz on Twitter and Instagram or like me on Facebook

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Rantz: Seattle cop says ‘yesterday I was a hero,’ now have ‘bullseye on my back’