1 00:00:04,879 --> 00:00:07,160 Speaker 1: What's going on? Thank you so much for listening to 2 00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:09,640 this podcast. It is heard live every day from noon 3 00:00:09,679 --> 00:00:12,519 to three on WBT Radio in Charlotte. And if you 4 00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:16,719 want exclusive content like invitations to events, the weekly live stream, 5 00:00:16,760 --> 00:00:19,239 my daily show prep with all the links, become a patron, 6 00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:22,600 go to vpekclendershow dot com. Make sure you hit the 7 00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:25,160 subscribe button. Get every episode for free right to your 8 00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:27,719 smartphone or tablet. And again, thank you so much for 9 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:32,640 your support. Do you remember now I'm maybe dating myself 10 00:00:32,679 --> 00:00:38,240 here ew, but also I'm like I'm old enough to 11 00:00:38,320 --> 00:00:42,000 remember when we were told in the wake of do 12 00:00:42,039 --> 00:00:46,079 you remember the Ukrainian refugee Her name was Arina Zarutska 13 00:00:46,119 --> 00:00:49,359 and she was murdered on the Charlotte light rail train 14 00:00:50,119 --> 00:00:56,399 and the reaction the response we got was, you know, 15 00:00:56,479 --> 00:01:01,119 thoughts and prayers. But then there was this, uh, this 16 00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:05,680 narrative about how actually crime is down. Remember that I 17 00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:08,359 remember that, Like, again, I may be dating myself, but 18 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:12,799 there was It's not just in Charlotte where this narrative 19 00:01:12,959 --> 00:01:15,719 was advanced. It was in a lot of different blue cities, 20 00:01:17,079 --> 00:01:22,719 you know. In response to President Donald Trump criticizing these 21 00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:28,319 Democrat controlled areas, and the crime that has been allowed 22 00:01:28,359 --> 00:01:33,640 to just get out of control. And we kept hearing, actually, 23 00:01:35,359 --> 00:01:38,760 the crime is down, violent crime is down. And then 24 00:01:38,799 --> 00:01:42,319 of course we found out like pretty quickly thereafter that 25 00:01:42,359 --> 00:01:45,120 they were juice in the stats, you know, they like, 26 00:01:45,439 --> 00:01:48,280 particularly in Washington, d C. There were a couple of 27 00:01:48,280 --> 00:01:56,319 whistleblowers that said, yeah, actually, actually there there coding violent 28 00:01:56,400 --> 00:02:00,560 crime as lesser crime in order to juice the stats 29 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:03,680 and make the stats look better than they actually are. Now, 30 00:02:03,719 --> 00:02:06,079 I have no evidence that occurred in Charlotte. I'm not 31 00:02:06,120 --> 00:02:09,520 saying that. I'm just saying that in Charlotte we were 32 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:14,520 being told that actually crime is down, and that's why 33 00:02:14,520 --> 00:02:16,719 I was kind of surprised. And I've had it in 34 00:02:16,759 --> 00:02:19,159 the stack of stuff for a couple of days now, 35 00:02:20,360 --> 00:02:26,280 several reports from Queen City News WBTV, the Charlotte Observer, 36 00:02:26,800 --> 00:02:37,199 WSOCTV about this this new plan they have to introduce 37 00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:43,759 this initiative. Actually they're they're doing one new initiative, but 38 00:02:43,800 --> 00:02:47,879 then they were also resuscitating an old initiative that they 39 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:50,599 allowed to I guess expire, but they're going to bring 40 00:02:50,639 --> 00:02:58,240 it back now to to step up police presence in 41 00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:04,199 uptown Charlotte don't all downtown and South End for some reason. 42 00:03:04,240 --> 00:03:08,439 I'm not really sure why, because actually violent crime is down, right, 43 00:03:08,520 --> 00:03:10,840 crime is down, So therefore, why would you need to 44 00:03:11,159 --> 00:03:16,439 increase police presence in uptown and in South End? So 45 00:03:16,479 --> 00:03:20,759 I thought that was kind of odd, you know, And 46 00:03:20,840 --> 00:03:22,199 I have the stories. I'll give you some of the 47 00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:27,960 highlights here. For example, this is wbtv's report by Michael Warwick. 48 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:32,800 The Charlotte Meckelberg Police Department introduced a new initiative Wednesday 49 00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:38,360 designed to reduce criminal activity uptown and help people feel safer. 50 00:03:40,199 --> 00:03:45,919 Remember this the perception of safety once again, maybe dating myself, 51 00:03:45,960 --> 00:03:48,919 but after the murder of Arena Zarutska, there was this 52 00:03:49,520 --> 00:03:54,439 response coming from city leadership and a lot of Democrats 53 00:03:54,439 --> 00:03:56,960 that was really echoed throughout the country, which is that 54 00:03:57,000 --> 00:04:00,840 if you know, people don't feel safe, then they're not safe, right, 55 00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:04,719 So you have to kind of work on this perception. 56 00:04:05,159 --> 00:04:09,960 People have this misperception that they're not actually safe because remember, 57 00:04:10,479 --> 00:04:14,960 actually the crime is down, okay, so they want to, 58 00:04:15,039 --> 00:04:16,920 I guess, put a bunch of cops out on the 59 00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:21,639 streets in order to make people perceive that they're safer 60 00:04:22,160 --> 00:04:26,040 because they actually are safer. They just don't perceive themselves 61 00:04:26,079 --> 00:04:27,759 to be safer. So we're going to put a bunch 62 00:04:27,759 --> 00:04:32,199 of law enforcement out there to reinforce the perception, to 63 00:04:32,279 --> 00:04:38,639 kind of break through that misperception, if you will. Okay, 64 00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:48,040 this was Wednesday, and today we now see the crime 65 00:04:48,079 --> 00:04:57,120 stats from uptown Charlotte and actually crime is up. Actually, 66 00:04:57,480 --> 00:05:02,639 actually crime is up. Here's wbt's Brett Jensen. You can 67 00:05:02,680 --> 00:05:07,600 catch his show here on WBT from six until seven. Sorry, 68 00:05:07,639 --> 00:05:09,800 I'm still trying to remember because they redid the the 69 00:05:10,519 --> 00:05:13,199 lineups and stuff. So Brett Jensen is on six to 70 00:05:13,279 --> 00:05:17,199 seven Breaking with Brett Jensen, and he tweeted this out 71 00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:21,680 or he xed it out. I guess. Charlotte leaders and 72 00:05:21,759 --> 00:05:25,439 CMPD keeps saying the perception is that Charlotte isn't safe 73 00:05:25,439 --> 00:05:28,920 and crime is up, but in reality, crime in uptown 74 00:05:29,040 --> 00:05:32,040 is through the roof. Look at the crime stats for 75 00:05:32,120 --> 00:05:34,639 the first three quarters of twenty twenty five compared to 76 00:05:34,680 --> 00:05:39,240 the same time period in twenty twenty four, and murder 77 00:05:39,680 --> 00:05:45,560 is up two hundred percent. Come on, now, that's just 78 00:05:45,639 --> 00:05:50,480 a perceptions. It's not no, it is it's up. Yeah, 79 00:05:50,560 --> 00:05:54,399 it is up two hundred percent. Now granted, these are small, 80 00:05:55,160 --> 00:05:59,240 you know numbers. For example, in twenty twenty four, for 81 00:05:59,439 --> 00:06:04,560 the period that ran from you know, January first through October, 82 00:06:05,560 --> 00:06:13,600 there were three murders. Okay, last year. This year, same 83 00:06:13,639 --> 00:06:18,319 time frame January to October, it's now nine murders, so 84 00:06:18,480 --> 00:06:22,000 triple the number of murders. That is a difference of six. 85 00:06:22,079 --> 00:06:27,079 That is a two hundred percent increase. Forcible rape up 86 00:06:27,519 --> 00:06:31,199 from ten to eleven. And again this is just uptown 87 00:06:31,639 --> 00:06:39,839 and south end of the Central Division. Armed robbery commercial 88 00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:45,240 went from three up to four. Armed robbery personal some 89 00:06:45,279 --> 00:06:50,000 good news that actually declined. Armed robbery declined, going from 90 00:06:50,040 --> 00:06:55,759 twenty eight to twenty two. Strong Arm robbery commercial went 91 00:06:55,759 --> 00:06:59,480 from seven to fifteen. Strong Arm robbery personal went up 92 00:06:59,480 --> 00:07:03,639 from twenty six to thirty one. Assault Aggravated assault with 93 00:07:03,680 --> 00:07:07,800 a knife went from twenty two to thirty five. Aggravated 94 00:07:07,800 --> 00:07:10,560 assault with a gun went from sixty four to seventy six. 95 00:07:11,319 --> 00:07:16,000 Aggravated assault other good news that dropped twenty two down 96 00:07:16,040 --> 00:07:22,839 to seventeen. Decline of five aggravated assault. Physical force stayed 97 00:07:22,839 --> 00:07:28,199 the same. Nine. Burglary breaking and entering commercial that went 98 00:07:28,240 --> 00:07:32,079 down by eighteen cases one thirty five down to one. Seventeen. 99 00:07:33,560 --> 00:07:38,160 Residential burglary B and E dropped also eighteen, went from 100 00:07:38,199 --> 00:07:42,839 sixty seven down to forty nine. Residential storage units went 101 00:07:42,879 --> 00:07:46,319 from three to two. Motor vehicle theft that went up, 102 00:07:47,120 --> 00:07:51,199 so that went up to forty one to two fifty three. 103 00:07:51,319 --> 00:07:54,240 Two hundred and fifty three vehicles stolen over the course 104 00:07:54,360 --> 00:08:00,120 of January and February March April May, nine months. It 105 00:08:00,120 --> 00:08:02,600 seems like a lot. It's like almost one a day, 106 00:08:03,160 --> 00:08:09,000 you know. Pocket picking basically the same. It went up 107 00:08:09,040 --> 00:08:11,480 by one. There were sixty five cases of that per 108 00:08:11,560 --> 00:08:16,319 Snatchings went from eleven to six. Shoplifting though, that went 109 00:08:16,399 --> 00:08:19,399 up to seventy one, up to three sixteen, three hundred 110 00:08:19,399 --> 00:08:21,959 and sixteen cases. That's more than one a day. One 111 00:08:21,959 --> 00:08:26,480 shoplifting call a day. Theft from building is up, theft 112 00:08:26,480 --> 00:08:29,439 from coin operated machine is up, but that's like one. 113 00:08:29,519 --> 00:08:33,039 It went from zero to one. Theft from motor vehicle 114 00:08:33,080 --> 00:08:38,559 went up, theft of motor vehicle parts up. All other 115 00:08:38,679 --> 00:08:42,240 thefts went down from six hundred ninety seven to six 116 00:08:42,360 --> 00:08:47,279 hundred and forty. Here's some good news. Arson dropped by 117 00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:51,080 four cases, went from eight to four. Forcible sodomy went 118 00:08:51,120 --> 00:08:54,279 down from five cases down to two, but sexual assault 119 00:08:54,399 --> 00:08:58,879 with an object went up from zero to two. Hacking 120 00:08:58,960 --> 00:09:05,320 went up cases or two six cases, human trafficking, involuntary 121 00:09:05,360 --> 00:09:08,159 servitude we had a case of that, but last year 122 00:09:08,200 --> 00:09:12,559 we didn't have any identity. Theft went up, forcible fondling 123 00:09:12,600 --> 00:09:16,080 went up, kidnapping that went down by one case, went 124 00:09:16,080 --> 00:09:18,600 from five to four. So that's good. Simple assault up 125 00:09:18,679 --> 00:09:25,840 by thirty five cases. So this is just perception. All 126 00:09:25,919 --> 00:09:33,120 of these increases that I just ran through, simply perception people. Okay, Well, 127 00:09:33,159 --> 00:09:37,200 actually it's also actual, Okay, so it is. So in 128 00:09:37,240 --> 00:09:43,759 other words, people's perception of crime in Charlotte was true, right, 129 00:09:44,080 --> 00:09:47,440 it's true. And when people in Charlotte are saying they 130 00:09:47,480 --> 00:09:51,039 don't feel safe, and the city leaders are trotting out 131 00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:53,919 crime stats through the first half of the year through July, 132 00:09:54,080 --> 00:09:57,639 which of course doesn't include July and August, which are 133 00:09:58,000 --> 00:10:03,519 usually high crime because kids are out of school, right, 134 00:10:03,600 --> 00:10:08,679 the utes running the streets, roaming around, stealing stuff, assaulting 135 00:10:08,720 --> 00:10:11,519 each other, getting into some gun play, you know, as 136 00:10:11,639 --> 00:10:15,960 kids do. So you have the summertime crime spike. So 137 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:18,320 when they're running around citing the crime stats and oh 138 00:10:18,399 --> 00:10:22,879 they're going down. Actually crime is going down. Yeah, Actually 139 00:10:22,919 --> 00:10:25,200 it was going up because you guys were looking at 140 00:10:25,240 --> 00:10:28,000 stats and using stats that did not include the more 141 00:10:28,080 --> 00:10:32,279 violent months. Now, maybe it peters out, maybe it sort 142 00:10:32,320 --> 00:10:35,080 of levels off or declines again or something. We shall see. 143 00:10:36,279 --> 00:10:38,080 But the point here that I'm trying to make is 144 00:10:38,080 --> 00:10:41,200 that when people when the residents of Charlotte are going down, 145 00:10:41,200 --> 00:10:43,480 because I watched the city council meetings and they're going 146 00:10:43,519 --> 00:10:45,840 down there and they're telling the city leaders that we 147 00:10:45,879 --> 00:10:48,879 are not feeling safe. Things are not cool here, things 148 00:10:48,919 --> 00:10:52,200 are not secure. They're talking about their experiences on the 149 00:10:52,200 --> 00:10:58,120 transit system, and the city leadership's response is okay, okay, yeah, yeah, yeah, 150 00:10:58,120 --> 00:10:59,519 we're going to do some stuff because we've got this 151 00:10:59,519 --> 00:11:01,840 referendus that we want people to pass, you know, so 152 00:11:03,480 --> 00:11:06,120 we're totally going to do some security stuff. But actually 153 00:11:06,200 --> 00:11:09,960 crime is down. Yeah, Actually it wasn't. It actually was not, 154 00:11:10,360 --> 00:11:13,519 and people's perception was accurate. 155 00:11:14,320 --> 00:11:14,480 Speaker 2: You know. 156 00:11:14,559 --> 00:11:17,080 Speaker 1: Stories are powerful. They help us make sense of things, 157 00:11:17,120 --> 00:11:20,559 to understand experiences. Stories connect us to the people of 158 00:11:20,600 --> 00:11:23,919 our past while transcending generations. They help us process the 159 00:11:23,960 --> 00:11:27,399 meaning of life, and our stories are told through images 160 00:11:27,440 --> 00:11:31,240 and videos. Preserve your stories with Creative Video, started in 161 00:11:31,320 --> 00:11:34,159 nineteen ninety seven and Minhill, North Carolina. It was the 162 00:11:34,200 --> 00:11:38,159 first company to provide this valuable service, converting images, photos 163 00:11:38,159 --> 00:11:42,399 and videos into high quality produced slide shows, videos and albums. 164 00:11:42,600 --> 00:11:45,960 The trusted, talented and dedicated team at Creative Video will 165 00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:48,039 go over all of the details with you to create 166 00:11:48,080 --> 00:11:51,919 a perfect project. Satisfaction guaranteed. Drop them off in person 167 00:11:52,000 --> 00:11:53,759 or mail them. They'll be ready in a week or two. 168 00:11:53,960 --> 00:11:59,159 Memorial videos for your loved ones, videos for rehearsal dinners, weddings, graduations, Christmas, 169 00:11:59,279 --> 00:12:03,480 family vacation, birthdays, or just your family stories, all told 170 00:12:03,519 --> 00:12:07,240 through images. That's what your photos and videos are. They 171 00:12:07,240 --> 00:12:10,080 are your life told through the eyes of everyone around 172 00:12:10,120 --> 00:12:12,399 you and all who came before you. And they will 173 00:12:12,399 --> 00:12:15,759 tell others to come who you are. Visit creative video 174 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:22,440 dot com. All right, So back to wbt's sorry wbtv's 175 00:12:22,840 --> 00:12:28,440 piece about this new initiative to put more officers uptown Charlotte. 176 00:12:28,600 --> 00:12:32,600 It's called the Crown Initiative. And I have here someplace 177 00:12:32,639 --> 00:12:37,679 what this thing stands here it is Center Cities Restoration 178 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:46,080 of Order, Wellness and Nonviolence. Center Cities Restoration of Order 179 00:12:46,320 --> 00:12:51,279 wellness and nonviolence. It's called CROWN. I like the acronym. However, 180 00:12:51,399 --> 00:12:56,480 should it be c crown because its center city no right, 181 00:12:56,600 --> 00:12:59,679 center city restoration of and honestly like, if you're going 182 00:12:59,720 --> 00:13:01,759 to use the of in the end, it would be 183 00:13:01,840 --> 00:13:07,279 like CCR O W A N or crew an. But 184 00:13:07,320 --> 00:13:09,679 that doesn't sound nearly as cool as crown anyway. So 185 00:13:09,759 --> 00:13:15,120 the Crown initiative, it's gonna put more officers uptown who 186 00:13:15,120 --> 00:13:21,639 will more strictly enforce crimes, which is the tell that 187 00:13:21,759 --> 00:13:27,679 is that is quite the tell, right, These laws already exist, 188 00:13:28,399 --> 00:13:32,480 they are on the books, but now CMPD is going 189 00:13:32,519 --> 00:13:41,480 to more strictly enforce crimes like aggressive panhandling, disorderly conduct, 190 00:13:41,720 --> 00:13:47,759 public intoxication, as well as, according to qcityw Queen Cityews, 191 00:13:47,840 --> 00:13:53,159 QC news dot Com, unpermitted street vending. So I'm gonna 192 00:13:53,159 --> 00:13:55,799 have to find something else to do or another place 193 00:13:55,840 --> 00:14:01,279 to locate my shop the announcement, right, Oh real quick, 194 00:14:01,639 --> 00:14:03,720 just to circle back to sacking style on that the 195 00:14:05,679 --> 00:14:08,639 fact that these laws are already on the books and 196 00:14:08,679 --> 00:14:14,120 that CMPD was not quote strictly enforcing them, right, This 197 00:14:14,200 --> 00:14:19,200 is what people like me people on quote the right 198 00:14:20,240 --> 00:14:24,039 tough on crime people, whatever you want to call them. 199 00:14:24,360 --> 00:14:27,480 This is what we have been pointing to. The laws exist, 200 00:14:27,879 --> 00:14:33,200 but there has obviously been a directive, an order, a 201 00:14:34,039 --> 00:14:37,639 general millieu, whatever it may be. There is a reason 202 00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:44,879 why officers have not been strictly enforcing these crimes. Do 203 00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:48,240 they all decide not to do it all at once? 204 00:14:48,840 --> 00:14:51,879 Like did they all get together, like I don't know, 205 00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:55,240 and before or after one of the daily briefings or something, 206 00:14:55,279 --> 00:14:58,519 maybe they're getting their gear on in the locker rooms 207 00:14:58,559 --> 00:15:01,240 and they're like, hey, you know what, let's not strictly 208 00:15:01,360 --> 00:15:06,559 enforce these crimes anymore. No, of course not. There's obviously 209 00:15:06,600 --> 00:15:09,960 been some sort of Again, I don't know if it's 210 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:14,960 a directive, a suggestion, if it's an order, or if 211 00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:19,200 it's a realignment or maybe a focus area or something 212 00:15:19,279 --> 00:15:24,399 like that. And I know this occurs from police officers 213 00:15:24,399 --> 00:15:27,840 who have told me, for example, and sometimes it's overt 214 00:15:27,879 --> 00:15:31,799 and explicit, right, Like do you remember a couple of 215 00:15:31,840 --> 00:15:33,639 years ago. Y'all may have heard of this down in 216 00:15:33,720 --> 00:15:36,799 Charlotte here, but I was working up in Asheville at 217 00:15:36,799 --> 00:15:41,080 the time when a police officer got into a fisticuffs 218 00:15:41,120 --> 00:15:46,679 with a guy who was simply jaywalking across the street. 219 00:15:47,720 --> 00:15:51,600 And the guy's name was Johnny Rush, and the Ashville 220 00:15:51,639 --> 00:15:57,320 police officer told him, you know, don't jaywalk. There's a 221 00:15:57,320 --> 00:16:01,080 crosswalk right here, like ten feet away from you, you know, 222 00:16:01,159 --> 00:16:04,960 stick to the crosswalk. And then Johnny Rush goes into 223 00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:07,559 the store, says okay, okay, fine, goes into the store, 224 00:16:07,639 --> 00:16:10,360 makes a purchase, leaves the store middle of the night, 225 00:16:10,679 --> 00:16:14,159 and crosses a four lane road again jaywalking, at which 226 00:16:14,159 --> 00:16:16,159 point they go over to give him a ticket. He 227 00:16:16,200 --> 00:16:19,879 doesn't want a ticket. I don't want this ticket, and 228 00:16:20,559 --> 00:16:23,120 he begins to run away. He begins to fight the cops. 229 00:16:23,120 --> 00:16:26,600 The cops fight back, and that's when and then there's, 230 00:16:26,639 --> 00:16:28,759 you know, the body cam footage comes out and oh 231 00:16:28,799 --> 00:16:32,120 my gosh, it's our own, you know, George Floyd. So 232 00:16:34,480 --> 00:16:37,799 that was actually nobody ever reported this, And whenever I 233 00:16:37,840 --> 00:16:39,679 talked about the case, I always tried to make mention 234 00:16:39,759 --> 00:16:41,559 of the fact that the reason why the cop was 235 00:16:41,679 --> 00:16:46,200 enforcing the jaywalking was because that's what the city told 236 00:16:46,279 --> 00:16:50,960 him to do, the City of Ashville told the police 237 00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:57,840 to focus on pedestrian safety, to start going after the jaywalkers. 238 00:16:59,559 --> 00:17:03,519 You know, why they had been embarrassed the city was 239 00:17:03,559 --> 00:17:10,279 embarrassed by a ranking of the least pedestrian safe cities 240 00:17:10,759 --> 00:17:13,279 and they made some top ten list of the worst 241 00:17:13,319 --> 00:17:17,759 cities to walk around in. And the downtown area in 242 00:17:17,799 --> 00:17:20,319 Asheville is actually pretty safe. I mean, if you've ever 243 00:17:20,359 --> 00:17:22,200 been there, you know, it's a lot of sidewalks and 244 00:17:22,240 --> 00:17:24,680 shops and stuff. It's a you know, it's an old downtown. 245 00:17:25,880 --> 00:17:29,480 But outside of the that you know, business district, downtown 246 00:17:29,880 --> 00:17:34,559 and they do call it downtown up there. Outside there, 247 00:17:34,599 --> 00:17:37,559 like there are not a lot of sidewalks. There's not 248 00:17:37,599 --> 00:17:39,880 even like shoulders on the side of the road. It's 249 00:17:40,160 --> 00:17:41,920 just like a cliff that drops off the side of 250 00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:44,240 the road because it's the mountains. And so people walking 251 00:17:44,279 --> 00:17:47,440 around on those roads at night, they're twisty and curvy 252 00:17:47,480 --> 00:17:49,920 and cars don't see, you know, motorists don't see them, 253 00:17:49,920 --> 00:17:52,480 and they hit people. And so the city was like, 254 00:17:52,480 --> 00:17:55,400 we're going to crack down on this, bust those jaywalkers. 255 00:17:56,000 --> 00:17:59,640 So they told the police to focus on this very 256 00:17:59,759 --> 00:18:04,839 kind of infraction, and when they did. When you have 257 00:18:04,920 --> 00:18:08,160 more law you have more law enforcement, you have more 258 00:18:08,200 --> 00:18:12,160 interactions with the public, and the chances are increased that 259 00:18:12,240 --> 00:18:16,039 you're going to have something like this happen, especially when 260 00:18:16,119 --> 00:18:18,599 you have a person that doesn't want to take the 261 00:18:18,599 --> 00:18:21,160 ticket and then refuses to be brought to jail for 262 00:18:21,240 --> 00:18:24,839 refusing to take the ticket. Right so, and then he 263 00:18:24,880 --> 00:18:26,680 fights back against the cops. He tries to grab a 264 00:18:26,720 --> 00:18:29,480 taser and whatever. Okay, So the point here is that 265 00:18:29,720 --> 00:18:35,319 these directives do come down. So obviously in Charlotte the 266 00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:40,640 message went out, do not strictly enforce these crimes, and 267 00:18:40,720 --> 00:18:45,519 now we are going to strictly enforce them. Any wagers 268 00:18:45,559 --> 00:18:48,200 on whether or not crime goes up or down here? Mmmmmmm, 269 00:18:48,920 --> 00:18:51,599 here's a great idea. How about making an escape to 270 00:18:51,680 --> 00:18:55,160 a really special and secluded getaway in western North Carolina. 271 00:18:55,279 --> 00:18:57,440 Just a quick drive up the mountain and Cabins of 272 00:18:57,440 --> 00:19:01,000 Asheville is your connection. 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This is from a seven oh 292 00:20:06,079 --> 00:20:10,160 four number anonymous. How are we talking about crime for 293 00:20:10,279 --> 00:20:15,319 weeks now and yet no word from the police chief. 294 00:20:16,200 --> 00:20:20,359 Speaker 1: I think he's already gone. I think no, I don't know. 295 00:20:20,680 --> 00:20:23,519 I don't know. I don't know the answer to this 296 00:20:23,640 --> 00:20:28,039 question that he is he is m I A which 297 00:20:28,559 --> 00:20:31,880 honestly like if he were to show up at one 298 00:20:31,920 --> 00:20:35,720 of these press conferences and try to offer comments. I'm 299 00:20:35,759 --> 00:20:40,359 sure he would be peppered with questions about his settlement 300 00:20:40,480 --> 00:20:43,680 and all of that scandal, and so he's just laying 301 00:20:43,759 --> 00:20:44,720 low until the end of. 302 00:20:44,720 --> 00:20:46,119 Speaker 2: The year and then he's gone. 303 00:20:47,279 --> 00:20:54,799 Speaker 1: That's my bet. Let me see here. This is from 304 00:20:55,079 --> 00:20:59,160 Martin quoting the mayor. I know what loss is about, 305 00:20:59,200 --> 00:21:01,880 and so sometimes we have to remember that even though 306 00:21:01,920 --> 00:21:04,240 when we're working together, there's a lot more to do 307 00:21:04,480 --> 00:21:06,680 and to work around and get it done. And I 308 00:21:06,759 --> 00:21:09,240 will and I will never forget this loss. I will 309 00:21:09,240 --> 00:21:11,079 never forget it. It has been something that has been 310 00:21:11,119 --> 00:21:13,200 difficult for me, but also something that has made me 311 00:21:13,240 --> 00:21:16,359 a better mayor for the people of Charlotte. Right, that 312 00:21:16,480 --> 00:21:19,039 was her quote. I read it. This was at that 313 00:21:19,079 --> 00:21:22,000 press conference where they showed off their new bikes and 314 00:21:22,759 --> 00:21:25,920 UTVs that they were going to be using along the 315 00:21:27,079 --> 00:21:31,440 transit properties. Right, that this has made her a better mayor. 316 00:21:32,599 --> 00:21:37,200 Her failure has made her a better mayor. Look, and hey, 317 00:21:37,440 --> 00:21:40,160 you know you can learn a lot through failure because 318 00:21:40,160 --> 00:21:44,000 you've tried something it didn't work. So okay, let's take 319 00:21:44,039 --> 00:21:46,440 this as a positive step. Let's look at this glass 320 00:21:46,440 --> 00:21:50,799 as half full and say that she tried the path 321 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:54,559 of soft on crime. It did not work, and now 322 00:21:54,599 --> 00:21:56,960 it's made her a better mayor. So now she's going 323 00:21:57,000 --> 00:22:07,839 to back more more enforcement. We can hope. Travis says, 324 00:22:07,839 --> 00:22:11,960 the correct name for a message on X is a cross, 325 00:22:12,680 --> 00:22:18,160 so he crossed it out barely. I barely give that 326 00:22:18,160 --> 00:22:22,799 one to you, Travis. It's like rearranging decks on the Titanics. 327 00:22:22,839 --> 00:22:25,839 As an anonymous seven oh four number eighth three numbers says, 328 00:22:25,920 --> 00:22:28,200 is there any kind of rape other than forcible rape? 329 00:22:28,200 --> 00:22:30,160 That's a good question, that's just I guess I was 330 00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:35,519 codified in the law. Bill says, I worked uptown off 331 00:22:35,519 --> 00:22:38,519 and on for forty one years, although I haven't worked 332 00:22:38,680 --> 00:22:41,319 downtown in six years. When I go visit now, it 333 00:22:41,440 --> 00:22:45,200 is scary. Ramir beard In Park has been turned into 334 00:22:45,200 --> 00:22:48,480 a criminal haven. The last time it got safe was 335 00:22:48,519 --> 00:22:50,759 when Mayor pat decided to do something about it and 336 00:22:50,799 --> 00:22:54,000 really had a much larger police presence downtown during that era. 337 00:22:55,400 --> 00:22:59,920 Have many colleagues that have had very negative experiences downtown recently. 338 00:23:00,079 --> 00:23:03,079 Prior to COVID, I felt completely safe there. Letting people 339 00:23:03,160 --> 00:23:06,720 riot in the streets did not help perception either. Well, 340 00:23:06,799 --> 00:23:12,759 and Bill, it's a good point, because you've got this 341 00:23:13,359 --> 00:23:15,880 talk about it a lot, I know. But this permission 342 00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:21,440 structure that was erected with the protests that were allowed 343 00:23:21,440 --> 00:23:24,920 to get out of control, and they even began before 344 00:23:25,079 --> 00:23:29,920 twenty twenty, before the summer of fiery but mostly peaceful riots, 345 00:23:30,160 --> 00:23:36,240 right Keith Lamont Scott, remember that he was shot and 346 00:23:36,319 --> 00:23:39,960 killed by a CMPD officer. And you had all the 347 00:23:40,400 --> 00:23:44,599 leftists that took to the streets and were protesting, and 348 00:23:44,599 --> 00:23:46,720 then oh my gosh, I see a police officer with 349 00:23:46,799 --> 00:23:49,000 a tactical vest I'm so triggered. I have to like 350 00:23:49,039 --> 00:23:53,559 throw a rock through a window or something. So the 351 00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:58,759 culture has been growing and the permission has been granted 352 00:24:00,079 --> 00:24:03,839 little by little over time until we got to where 353 00:24:03,839 --> 00:24:10,680 we are now. There was a quote actually from Michael Smith. 354 00:24:12,279 --> 00:24:17,440 Let's see here, I have it here. It is Michael 355 00:24:17,440 --> 00:24:20,880 Smith is the CEO of Charlotte Center City Partners, and 356 00:24:20,920 --> 00:24:26,359 he said quote during COVID, the world needed grace and 357 00:24:26,480 --> 00:24:30,880 we offered it. In doing so, I'm concerned that our 358 00:24:30,920 --> 00:24:39,519 community has inadvertently relaxed our standards for public safety. Okay, 359 00:24:39,599 --> 00:24:45,400 so no, there was no inadvertently about it. It was intentional, 360 00:24:46,079 --> 00:24:51,079 right In fact he acknowledges. He says, the world needed 361 00:24:51,279 --> 00:24:56,319 grace and we offered it. In other words, it's okay, 362 00:24:56,599 --> 00:24:59,920 we know it's a pandemic. So if you need to 363 00:25:00,079 --> 00:25:02,720 go around and you know, commit some crimes here and there, 364 00:25:02,799 --> 00:25:06,000 will allow it. Okay, all right, fine, we're gonna give 365 00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:09,279 you some grace here. And grace means what turning a 366 00:25:09,279 --> 00:25:15,759 blind eye or something that like. But that's not justice. 367 00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:20,640 You're giving grace. It's not yours to give, right And 368 00:25:20,759 --> 00:25:24,279 in doing so, I'm concerned the community inadvertently relaxed our 369 00:25:24,319 --> 00:25:28,799 standards for public safety. So there's the admission they did. 370 00:25:29,599 --> 00:25:32,920 They did relax the standards for public safety, although it 371 00:25:32,960 --> 00:25:36,920 was inadvertent, just like any decision that was made during 372 00:25:37,039 --> 00:25:40,039 COVID by you know, my good friend Ray the governor 373 00:25:40,079 --> 00:25:43,400 at the time, and Mandy Cohen, who, as I understand it, 374 00:25:43,440 --> 00:25:46,640 has it going on that and that's from a song 375 00:25:46,680 --> 00:25:49,440 that some moron sang for her. Anyway, it doesn't matter. 376 00:25:50,039 --> 00:25:54,039 But yeah, during COVID, like they made all these decisions, lockdowns, 377 00:25:54,200 --> 00:25:58,839 masking all of this stuff, and every single decision they 378 00:25:58,839 --> 00:26:01,599 made I guess was perf They didn't make a single 379 00:26:01,680 --> 00:26:04,240 mistake because nobody has ever come out and said, you 380 00:26:04,279 --> 00:26:07,200 know what, we probably shouldn't have done this, Oh, we 381 00:26:07,279 --> 00:26:09,920 probably shouldn't have had it last that long or whatever. 382 00:26:10,400 --> 00:26:15,039 There's been no accountability, no post mortem assessment to say 383 00:26:15,559 --> 00:26:17,000 this is what we did right, this is what we 384 00:26:17,039 --> 00:26:19,400 did wrong. This made things better, this made things worse. 385 00:26:19,799 --> 00:26:23,759 They haven't done it. But now we're finding out, Okay, 386 00:26:24,519 --> 00:26:30,000 maybe some standards were relaxed. It was inadvertin, so now 387 00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:31,359 we're going to have to crack down again. 388 00:26:32,119 --> 00:26:35,240 Speaker 2: So when I was a kid, my grandpa died with Alzheimer's, 389 00:26:35,279 --> 00:26:37,519 and before he died, my mom and my dad took 390 00:26:37,519 --> 00:26:39,799 care of him as he got worse. Forty years ago, 391 00:26:39,880 --> 00:26:42,960 there were no treatments and not much support for caregivers 392 00:26:42,960 --> 00:26:45,519 and family. But things are different today because of the 393 00:26:45,559 --> 00:26:48,759 work of so many people, including the Alzheimer's Association of 394 00:26:48,759 --> 00:26:52,400 Western Carolina. It's a great organization with awesome people with 395 00:26:52,559 --> 00:26:55,319 huge hearts. I've been a supporter for twenty five years. 396 00:26:55,359 --> 00:26:58,640 This cause means a lot to me. I participate in 397 00:26:58,720 --> 00:27:01,559 the annual Walk to End Do Alzheimer's and I'm leading a 398 00:27:01,640 --> 00:27:04,759 Charlotte team again this year, and it's called once Again 399 00:27:04,839 --> 00:27:07,240 Pete's Pack you can sign up and you can join 400 00:27:07,279 --> 00:27:10,039 the team and walk with us. It's on October eighteenth 401 00:27:10,119 --> 00:27:14,200 that truest field. Sign up at alz dot org slash 402 00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:17,279 walk and then you can search for my team name Petespac. 403 00:27:17,559 --> 00:27:20,680 There's also a link at thepetepod dot com. There's also 404 00:27:20,680 --> 00:27:23,559 a link in the description of this podcast. Also, I'll 405 00:27:23,559 --> 00:27:26,759 be am seeing the Gastonia Walk on October eleventh then, 406 00:27:26,759 --> 00:27:28,880 so you can make a team and join that one too, 407 00:27:29,240 --> 00:27:31,160 or make a donation and help me hit my goal 408 00:27:31,200 --> 00:27:34,079 of five thousand dollars. If you do, I really appreciate it. 409 00:27:34,119 --> 00:27:36,799 There are a bunch of other walks all over the Carolinas. 410 00:27:36,920 --> 00:27:39,559 You can go to alz dot org slash walk for 411 00:27:39,640 --> 00:27:42,440 all the dates and locations. We're closer than ever to 412 00:27:42,519 --> 00:27:44,839 stopping Alzheimer's. Can you help us get there? Will you 413 00:27:44,880 --> 00:27:47,759 walk with me? For a different future, for families, for 414 00:27:47,839 --> 00:27:50,920 more time for treatments. This is why we walk. 415 00:27:51,720 --> 00:27:56,440 Speaker 1: Charlotte Police introducing the Crown Initiative, which is basically policing. 416 00:27:57,079 --> 00:28:00,160 They're just gonna put more police in uptown South End, 417 00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:07,839 and they're also re establishing the EED the EEDU, the 418 00:28:08,079 --> 00:28:13,720 Entertainment District Unit. This will primarily patrol outside bars and 419 00:28:13,960 --> 00:28:18,359 nightclubs in Uptown and in South End. The Public Safety 420 00:28:18,400 --> 00:28:21,400 Task Force will work with state lawmakers also on needed 421 00:28:21,519 --> 00:28:27,319 changes in the court system. This from Queen City News. 422 00:28:28,319 --> 00:28:33,279 The increased visibility will include more officers patrolling, biking, or 423 00:28:33,359 --> 00:28:36,400 walking throughout Uptown. No word yet on how many officers 424 00:28:36,480 --> 00:28:38,839 will be out at a time, but CMPD said those 425 00:28:38,839 --> 00:28:43,200 officers will enforce ordinances that ban aggressive panhandling and unpermitted 426 00:28:43,200 --> 00:28:49,480 street vending. The EDU will be deployed around the bars, 427 00:28:49,519 --> 00:28:51,880 it's part of their work. As part of the work, 428 00:28:51,880 --> 00:28:57,000 they'll focus on reducing violence in fourth Ward, which, in 429 00:28:57,039 --> 00:29:01,160 case folks don't know, they like the old the original 430 00:29:01,720 --> 00:29:05,119 the wards were the original voting districts for the city. 431 00:29:05,720 --> 00:29:08,440 And so if you're looking at the map, you got 432 00:29:08,640 --> 00:29:11,720 trade and try on right there at the square. They 433 00:29:11,759 --> 00:29:14,079 call it the square, even though it's a it's a cross, 434 00:29:14,119 --> 00:29:16,880 which is weird, but whatever, it's called the square. And 435 00:29:16,920 --> 00:29:19,799 so trade and try on, you know, tryon running north south, 436 00:29:19,880 --> 00:29:24,319 trade running east west. And those are the four corners 437 00:29:24,319 --> 00:29:27,000 where the corners of the four wards meet. That's how 438 00:29:27,039 --> 00:29:29,119 they came up with the name. So first ward, second word, 439 00:29:29,160 --> 00:29:32,160 third ward fourth word. It goes in clockwise fashion around 440 00:29:32,200 --> 00:29:37,240 the horn there if you will so. CMPD will have 441 00:29:37,240 --> 00:29:40,480 an update on their progress once they release their latest 442 00:29:40,519 --> 00:29:43,759 crime data, which is supposed to be next week. I 443 00:29:43,799 --> 00:29:49,440 guess this from the Charlotte Observer Nick Sullivan's piece at 444 00:29:49,440 --> 00:29:55,519 the paper minor infractions. This is according to Major Gene Limb, 445 00:29:56,240 --> 00:29:59,039 the area commander over the southeast part of the city. 446 00:29:59,519 --> 00:30:05,240 Minor and fractions can eventually lead to more serious crimes. Really, 447 00:30:06,319 --> 00:30:11,000 oh my gosh, who knew that, except like everybody who 448 00:30:11,079 --> 00:30:15,880 has studied law enforcement procedures and policies for like the 449 00:30:15,960 --> 00:30:19,279 last I don't know, sixty years. It's called the broken 450 00:30:19,319 --> 00:30:22,920 window theory. When you let the little stuff slide, you 451 00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:25,599 get more of it, and then people feel emboldened to 452 00:30:25,680 --> 00:30:32,759 do the bigger stuff right Crown. The Crown initiative will 453 00:30:32,839 --> 00:30:37,440 focus on quality of life crimes such as panhandling, illegal 454 00:30:37,440 --> 00:30:43,519 street vending, and other quote public disruption crimes. The Charlotte 455 00:30:43,519 --> 00:30:46,519 Meckleburg Police Department is launching the two initiatives in response 456 00:30:46,559 --> 00:30:50,279 to what officials say are public perceptions there. It is 457 00:30:50,319 --> 00:30:56,279 again the perceptions of danger in the city. Some notable 458 00:30:56,440 --> 00:30:59,359 and by the way, those perceptions are based in reality, 459 00:31:00,160 --> 00:31:03,279 because again in twenty twenty four first nine months, there 460 00:31:03,279 --> 00:31:06,319 were three murders uptown. This year, there have been nine 461 00:31:06,400 --> 00:31:10,000 murders uptown, so it's not simply a perception. All of 462 00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:14,160 the violent categories have increased over last year in the 463 00:31:14,200 --> 00:31:18,359 center city. Some notable recent incidents in Uptown include a 464 00:31:18,400 --> 00:31:21,599 shootout that left one person dead at a club in September. 465 00:31:22,240 --> 00:31:24,799 This week, a teenager was arrested after a group of 466 00:31:24,799 --> 00:31:27,880 people were shot at Romer Beard in Park. Critics say 467 00:31:27,880 --> 00:31:30,559 the city has not done enough to quell violent crime. 468 00:31:30,880 --> 00:31:34,599 The FOP just last week wrote a letter calling for 469 00:31:34,640 --> 00:31:39,039 the National Guard to be summoned to the Queen City. 470 00:31:40,480 --> 00:31:42,400 I have the letter here. I still haven't gone over. Well, 471 00:31:42,400 --> 00:31:44,160 maybe I'll do it right now. Let's do it. Let's 472 00:31:44,160 --> 00:31:48,359 do it live. We'll do it live. Okay, here's the letter. 473 00:31:48,400 --> 00:31:53,920 This is a request to the mayor, to Governor Josh Stein, 474 00:31:54,359 --> 00:31:57,680 and to Donald Trump's administration. Due to the request is 475 00:31:57,759 --> 00:32:01,720 due to the ongoing failure of city and police leadership 476 00:32:01,920 --> 00:32:06,119 to address the severe staffing crisis within the Charlotte Mecklenburg 477 00:32:06,160 --> 00:32:08,880 Police Department, which we believe has led to a violence 478 00:32:08,960 --> 00:32:13,119 crisis in Charlotte. Now, what's hilarious about this, I mean 479 00:32:13,160 --> 00:32:17,799 not hilarious, but about the Democrat messaging on this. Right, 480 00:32:17,799 --> 00:32:20,000 what do you keep hearing when it comes to like 481 00:32:20,079 --> 00:32:25,640 the federal government shutdown? What do we keep hearing that 482 00:32:25,680 --> 00:32:28,440 there needs to be more funding? Right? More money? What 483 00:32:28,480 --> 00:32:33,039 did we hear after the murder of Arena Zarutska there 484 00:32:33,039 --> 00:32:35,440 needs to be more funding, more money. What did we 485 00:32:35,480 --> 00:32:38,519 hear after the passage and during the debate over Arena's 486 00:32:38,599 --> 00:32:42,079 law in the General Assembly? More money? We need more money. 487 00:32:42,079 --> 00:32:44,559 That's been the constant drumbeet. We need more money. 488 00:32:44,559 --> 00:32:44,799 Speaker 2: Why? 489 00:32:44,880 --> 00:32:47,839 Speaker 1: More money for cops? Got to fund more police positions. 490 00:32:47,880 --> 00:32:49,880 We need more money for the police, more money for 491 00:32:49,920 --> 00:32:54,559 the police. Right. Well, okay, that seems to indicate then 492 00:32:54,599 --> 00:32:57,200 that there needs to be more staffing, right, you need 493 00:32:57,240 --> 00:33:01,359 to staff up because we're at a recruiting deficit. We 494 00:33:01,440 --> 00:33:04,880 have a lot of open positions in Charlotte Mecklenburg Police. Okay, 495 00:33:05,359 --> 00:33:09,119 So how would you like some National Guards national Guard 496 00:33:09,200 --> 00:33:15,440 troops to come in and help backstop CMPD. Right, So 497 00:33:15,519 --> 00:33:19,799 this way you would have like some National Guard walking 498 00:33:19,880 --> 00:33:23,640 around doing that stuff, and you'd have CMPD. That would 499 00:33:23,640 --> 00:33:26,319 be able to, you know, go and effectuate and arrest. 500 00:33:26,880 --> 00:33:29,079 They could do more investigations and stuff. They could do 501 00:33:29,119 --> 00:33:30,839 more of that kind of work and they're not going 502 00:33:30,920 --> 00:33:35,119 to be tied up with some of the patrolling. Right. Well, 503 00:33:35,119 --> 00:33:37,400 why wouldn't you want the National Guard? Well, I don't know. 504 00:33:37,599 --> 00:33:40,720 Apparently the mayor she says she doesn't want the National Guard. 505 00:33:40,799 --> 00:33:42,920 I think even Senator Tom Tillis said we don't need 506 00:33:42,920 --> 00:33:45,400 the National Guard. Well wait a minute, which is it? 507 00:33:45,440 --> 00:33:47,640 Is there a problem with a lack of policing, a 508 00:33:47,720 --> 00:33:52,680 lack of police officers? If so, shouldn't you welcome some 509 00:33:52,720 --> 00:33:55,799 more bodies on the street, right? I mean not like 510 00:33:55,839 --> 00:33:58,559 dead bodies like we're seeing right now, but like live bodies, 511 00:33:58,640 --> 00:34:01,920 like officers walking the bead and troops that are like 512 00:34:02,160 --> 00:34:07,559 providing protection for businesses in like the downtown area, round 513 00:34:07,599 --> 00:34:10,599 the bars and stuff. Why not do that? Why not 514 00:34:10,760 --> 00:34:13,559 accept this offer? Why not make the request? Why not 515 00:34:13,679 --> 00:34:20,079 join the FOP request? I know, I know, because Trump, 516 00:34:20,559 --> 00:34:27,000 It's all because of Trump. Residents can expect to see 517 00:34:27,039 --> 00:34:31,679 more officers patrolling the streets and stricter enforcement within a 518 00:34:31,719 --> 00:34:34,719 half mile radius of trade and try on. Okay, So 519 00:34:34,960 --> 00:34:38,760 if you're if you're a criminal, just make sure you 520 00:34:38,880 --> 00:34:43,239 keep the crime outside of the like the trade and 521 00:34:43,239 --> 00:34:46,320 try on area half mile radius around trade and triumph. Okay, 522 00:34:46,920 --> 00:34:54,400 that's apparently that's the message. Major Gene Limb from CMPD 523 00:34:54,480 --> 00:34:57,440 said this is a focused, high impact effort to immediately 524 00:34:57,440 --> 00:35:00,480 shift the environment and perception of our center city. Disorder 525 00:35:00,599 --> 00:35:06,039 will not be tolerated. Well, I know I'm dragging these 526 00:35:06,039 --> 00:35:10,800 people a bit, but honestly it's about time. I welcome 527 00:35:11,039 --> 00:35:18,079 the renewed focus on public safety and sweating the little things. 528 00:35:18,280 --> 00:35:23,000 You know. This is from Mark on the text line. 529 00:35:23,000 --> 00:35:25,559 It's awful funny. There wasn't enough police for transit. Now 530 00:35:25,559 --> 00:35:27,840 they can increase police around town. But it's like you said, 531 00:35:27,840 --> 00:35:32,280 it's not the police, it's really the court system. Is 532 00:35:32,360 --> 00:35:35,840 more aggressive enforcement really going to lead to more aggressive prosecution? 533 00:35:36,480 --> 00:35:40,119 I think not. I mean that's a fair question. And 534 00:35:40,239 --> 00:35:43,159 Robert says the police are not the problem. The governing 535 00:35:43,199 --> 00:35:46,400 democrats are and have been, and everybody knows it. Should 536 00:35:46,440 --> 00:35:48,239 they call in the guard to help the police, we 537 00:35:48,320 --> 00:35:50,280 both know that won't happen. None of this would be 538 00:35:50,280 --> 00:35:52,800 happening if the killing of Arena Zarutzka could have been 539 00:35:52,800 --> 00:35:55,800 swept under the rug, but it wasn't it made national 540 00:35:55,840 --> 00:35:59,960 news and even then Charlotte politicians, especially the mayo or mayor. 541 00:36:00,079 --> 00:36:02,719 I guess that meant to say, try to ignore it. 542 00:36:03,400 --> 00:36:08,039 Charlotte is in a sad state of affairs, Buddy says. 543 00:36:08,079 --> 00:36:10,159 I grew up in Charlotte when it was still downtown. 544 00:36:10,559 --> 00:36:12,719 Now if you go there, it would be going uptown. 545 00:36:12,840 --> 00:36:18,440 Downtown means you've been taken downtown. Okay, I don't know 546 00:36:18,480 --> 00:36:24,079 if I'm following that. Downtown always yeah, that always struck 547 00:36:24,119 --> 00:36:26,159 me as like that's where the police department is. You 548 00:36:26,199 --> 00:36:31,719 know we're going downtown. So all right, that'll do it 549 00:36:31,760 --> 00:36:34,400 for this episode. Thank you so much for listening. I 550 00:36:34,440 --> 00:36:36,559 could not do the show without your support and the 551 00:36:36,559 --> 00:36:39,639 support of the businesses that advertise on the podcast, so 552 00:36:39,679 --> 00:36:41,760 if you'd like, please support them too and tell them 553 00:36:41,800 --> 00:36:43,760 you heard it here. You can also become a patron 554 00:36:43,840 --> 00:36:48,039 at my Patreon page or go to thepetecallanershow dot com. Again, 555 00:36:48,320 --> 00:36:50,840 thank you so much for listening, and don't break anything 556 00:36:50,880 --> 00:36:55,480 while I'm gone.