Media and left-wing activists have spent the last two years focusing on high profile cases involving law enforcement and minority communities. According to a Colorado sheriff, the response from public officials to the resulting “Defund the Police” movement has had a negative impact.

Law enforcement agencies are coming under attack from critics on the left and are increasingly restricted from policing their communities. Officers are leaving departments across the nation by the thousands.

“The less law enforcement are out there protecting your rights, you’re losing your freedom,” says the sheriff. “Those men and women are putting their lives on the line for people that are now saying ‘We’re not going to fund you, we’re not going to support you, we’re not going to help you.’”

Sheriff Mikesell joined the Truth & Liberty livecast with Andrew Wommack and Richard Harris to discuss a number of issues, including the recent challenges facing local law enforcement.

Effects of the Border Crisis

Biden-Harris Administration policies have spurred a dramatic increase in illegal immigrants entering the United States. Though it has not had an immediate impact on communities like Teller County, Sheriff Mikesell says that will change.

“It’s not affecting us tomorrow or the next day, but it will,” says the sheriff.

Over the years, Sheriff Mikesell and his deputies have worked to eliminate drug cartels from Teller County. A number of the cartel participants were identified as illegal aliens. According to the sheriff, open borders will allow those same cartels “to push things across the border quicker, faster, easier.”

Releasing Prisoners Early

In California, 75,000 inmates (including felons) are being released early from state prisons in a mass exodus of convicted criminals. According to Mikesell, other Democrat-run states like Colorado have tried similar strategies with negative results, putting a burden on local agencies.

“They end up in the county systems, where now they’re going back to court for violent crimes, which is now increasing the amount of shootings we have, and increases the amount of crime we have, and it’s this constant circle,” says Mikesell.

Support Your Local Law Enforcement

According to Mikesell, with all the challenges facing local law enforcement, community support is essential. Getting law enforcement boosters to participate in government will also make a difference.

“People have to get involved in their communities and they have to get involved in the politics,” says Mikesell. “I know nobody wants to get involved in politics – I never wanted to get involved in politics – but it is the only way to change your country and save it.”

Learn More

To learn more about Sheriff Jason Mikesell and the Teller County Sheriff’s Office, visit the department’s website and Facebook page. 

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