Former Obama Appointee Blames Law Enforcement for Crime in New York City: ‘It’s Actually the Fault of Police’

MSNBC contributor and former Obama administration appointee Brittany Packet Cunningham said in a Monday interview she faulted police for rising crime rates in New York City.

“Defunding the police is not just about taking money out of an institution that continues to prove ineffective,” Cunningham said in the interview with MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle. “It’s also about refunding the people. It’s about ensuring the services that people need to ensure safe communities from the ground up are actually being funded and resourced to their full capacity. I think there are a lot of police unions and GOP operatives that would like for us to believe that this recent crime wave has everything to do with the idea of defunding the police.

“Guess what, Stephanie?” Cunningham said. “The police haven’t been defunded. … So this rise in crime is not the fault of the movement. It is actually the fault of the police, and this has been our point all along. Why should we keep funding systems and institutions that keep rendering themselves ineffective?”

Prior to becoming a contributor for MSNBC, Cunningham served as an appointee on former President Barack Obama’s 21st Century Policing Task Force. Her remarks came in the context of a segment on the Tuesday mayoral primary in New York City, where crime is a top issue among the Democratic voters who will decide the next mayor.

Watch above via MSNBC.