On Wednesday morning, CNN again tried to blame crime in liberal states on the laws of more pro-gun states as co-host Jim Sciutto recalled complaints in New York about guns being transferred from Southern states.
Discussing a new CDC report documenting the surge in homicides, the CNN host did at least acknowledge that the morale of police officers has been hurt, contributing to the spike in crime, but did not clarify the role the media has played in making it that way with their over-coverage of police-involved violence.
Speaking with Oakland, California, police chief LeRonne Armstrong, Sciutto suggested the availability of guns in pro-gun states was causing more crime in liberal states as he oddly described the more conservative states as having "liberal gun laws." The CNN host posed:
My producer and I spent some time with the NYPD on patrol a few weeks ago, and one thing NYPD leaders cite is what they call the "iron pipeline," and that is a sort of pipeline of weapons from Southern states with liberal gun laws up to New York. And I wonder if you see similar, where you are in California? And where do they get in? And is there any way to control those weapons getting in?
After Armstrong recalled finding guns that had come into California from Nevada and Arizona, co-host Erica Hill brought up the issue of declaring "gun violence" a "public health emergency" as she followed up:
...we're looking at these numbers here at the murder rate in Oakland. And the city council recently voted to approve a resolution that declared gun violence in Oakland, you know, a public health emergency. You know, we looked at the AMA years ago said this is a public health issue -- this is a public health crisis. Does almost redefining gun violence as a public health issue -- does that help you?
After the police chief voiced agreement with such a move, Sciutto followed up by bringing up the morale issue. Without clearly recalling the problem from the past year of the media subjecting police officers to an overabundance of scrutiny and Monday morning quarterbacking about how they do their jobs, the CNN host posed:
You often hear -- before we go, Chief -- from police departments across the country about a drop in police officers' morale. Do you have that same experience? And do you think that's part of the reason behind the jump in crime? Are officers policing differently in this environment?
Armstrong admitted:
But I have seen the impact of a reducing staff. Some people are choosing to not join law enforcement. Some people feel like it's just a difficult time to be a police officer. So I think law enforcement around the country are definitely dealing with some recruiting and retention issues of keeping police officers in uniform.
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Transcript follows:
CNN Newsroom
October 6, 2021
9:19 a.m. Eastern
JIM SCIUTTO: My producer and I spent some time with the NYPD on patrol a few weeks ago, and one thing NYPD leaders cite is what they call the "iron pipeline," and that is a sort of pipeline of weapons from Southern states with liberal gun laws up to New York. And I wonder if you see similar, where you are in California? And where do they get in? And is there any way to control those weapons getting in?
CHIEF LeRONNE ARMSTRONG, OAKLAND POLICE DEPARTMENT: Yeah, we definitely have seen the increase in firearms coming across the California border both from Nevada and Arizona. We've been working with the ATF to stem this influx of firearms that continue to come into our community, and I think one of the real difficult issues we're facing is this huge influx of ghost guns. We had seen ghost guns in the city of Oakland in 2018 and prior years, but, in 2020 and 2021, we've seen a significant increase in the recovery of these untrackable weapons. That is also problematic for law enforcement as well.
ERICA HILL: Yeah, and we're looking at these numbers here at the murder rate in Oakland. And the city council recently voted to approve a resolution that declared gun violence in Oakland, you know, a public health emergency. You know, we looked at the AMA years ago said this is a public health issue -- this is a public health crisis. Does almost redefining gun violence as a public health issue -- does that help you?
ARMSTRONG: I think it does. I think it sends a message to the entire community that it is not just about violence related to a certain group of people or certain individuals. I think it really says that this is a problem that we all should pay attention to that has impacted all communities throughout our country as we've seen in the statistics that you guys put out earlier. I think it is a call in Oakland for every member of our community to be a part of our response to address gun violence. I appreciate this council ringing the alarm, if you would, to say to everybody that this is a crisis -- a medical crisis that needs proper attention.
SCIUTTO: You often hear -- before we go, Chief -- from police departments across the country about a drop in police officers' morale. Do you have that same experience? And do you think that's part of the reason behind the jump in crime? Are officers policing differently in this environment?
ARMSTRONG: I haven't seen our officers police any differently. I think we reorganized to be more focused. I think we feel like we are accountable to public safety. And so our officers are going out there and doing the best job they can to address violent crime. But I have seen the impact of a reducing staff. Some people are choosing to not join law enforcement. Some people feel like it's just a difficult time to be a police officer. So I think law enforcement around the country are definitely dealing with some recruiting and retention issues of keeping police officers in uniform.
SCIUTTO: Yeah, that's a story we hear so often.
