A Texas politician has run an ad asking police officers to “escape New York” and move to the Lone Star State.
U.S. Rep. Beth Van Duyne (TX-R) is looking to lure New York City’s finest to Texas by addressing them directly in a full-page spread in the New York Post.
The ad, which went live Tuesday, opens with condolences for the recent killing of an officer from the New York Police Department (NYPD).
“We grieve for you, the family he leaves behind, and the law enforcement community,” it reads.
As previously covered in The Dallas Express, Officer Jonathan Diller was fatally shot during a traffic stop in Queens late last month. The alleged shooter was Guy Rivera, an ex-con on parole who had been arrested 21 times before the incident.
During a funeral procession in Long Island, former NYPD officer Mayor Eric Adams spoke about the profession’s challenges and NYC’s gratitude for police.
“This is a city of law and order, not disorder. And I believe we will continue to move our city in the right direction with the sacrifices that you pay every day,” Adams said. “Sometimes it feels like our society does not appreciate that, but they do.”
Yet Rep. Van Duyne’s ad challenges these remarks, offering a scathing critique of NYC’s politicians, who are described as looking at police as either “nothing more than a photo opp” or “a punching bag … to satisfy their extremist base.”
“Your lives don’t have to be endangered by violent career criminals who are never locked up,” the ad claims. “You don’t have to be beaten on the streets by gangs of illegal immigrant criminals. And you don’t have to be endlessly insulted with budget cuts by Defund the Police politicians. It’s time for you to leave these loathsome and destructive fools behind. ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK!”
Rep. Van Duyne’s ad argues that Texas is a better alternative to the Empire State, touting its strong economy, low cost of living, and respect — if not reverence — for police.
“Y’all have a home waiting for you here in Texas,” the ad suggests.
The ad even provides a list of departments and agencies in Texas looking for new recruits. The Dallas Police Department is featured alongside the departments of Richardson, Euless, Addison, Fort Worth, Keller, Irving, Grapevine, and more.
DPD has been critically understaffed for several years, resulting in lengthy police response times and a hampered ability to fight crime. Despite a City analysis recommending a force of 4,000 to ensure public safety, only around 3,000 are currently fielded. Meanwhile, property crimes are steadily rising across the city, especially in Downtown Dallas.
As monthly reports from the Metroplex Civic & Business Association (MCBA) attest, Downtown Dallas consistently puts up higher crime figures than Fort Worth’s downtown area. The former logged 61 times more motor vehicle thefts and 17 times more assaults than the latter in February.
While the City of Fort Worth has a specialized police unit and private security teams patrol its city center and recently approved dispensing $1.9 million to nonprofits looking to help reduce crime citywide, the Dallas City Council has gone the other way. It recently budgeted DPD just $654 million this fiscal year — far less taxpayer money spent on public safety than in other high-crime jurisdictions, such as NYC, Chicago, and Los Angeles.