Elected officials must stop using “broad brushes” to define members of a race or religious community, according to the chief of the Austin Police Department, who said doing so only makes people more likely to become radicalized lone wolves.
Chief Art Acevado testified Wednesday before the House Homeland Security Committee about how to stop lone-wolf attacks in the U.S., something he called an “imminent threat” that keeps him up at night. One of the key things is to “build bridges” and make people feel welcome instead of referring to large groups of people as criminals.
“It’s important for this committee, especially for elected officials, to temper our comments and temper our broad brushes we’re using to paint members of a community, of a religion, of a race, of a national origin as criminals or as terrorists,” he said.
“We know that individuals that feel marginalized or feel like they’re not welcome end up being much more susceptible to radicalization, whether it’s from a street gang or an Islamist overseas using social media.”
Making comments about large groups of people has been a major part of Donald Trump’s campaign rhetoric, including saying that Mexican immigrants include rapists and criminals and promising that he would ban Muslims from coming to the United States.
Trump has also said that bringing refugees from the Middle East to the United States poses too much of a risk, since some may carry out attacks on the homeland.
Sheriff Michael Bouchard, from the Oakland County, Mich., sheriff’s office, said he believes a fear of refugees is well-placed, pointing to reports this week that the federal vetting process accidentally granted citizenship to 800 immigrants.
“The threat to public safety and national security posed by our government’s refugee and visa programs are real,” he testified.
Michigan has recently taken in about 1,200 refugees, yet Bouchard said the federal government has shirked its responsibility under the Refugee Act to stay in regular contact with county officials about the status of refugees and resettlement.
“No one from the federal government has made any effort to consult with my county [or] embers of our association on this issue. There’s been over 1,200 refugees settled in my state with the majority in my county and not one phone call,” he said.
Another county official reportedly said this week that he’s planning to sue to stop more refugees from being resettled there.
Bouchard also argued for the militarization of local police departments as threats grow.
“An armored vehicle pulls up every day at a bank or a grocery store to protect money and it’s viewed as normal. But if law enforcement pulls up in the same vehicle at the same building to protect lives, somehow it’s bad,” he said.
Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, and chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, thanked the law enforcement officials for their appearance at the committee, especially after a hard year in which officials have faced tough questioning in the press and increased violence in their communities.
“Americans are rightfully worried that once again our city streets are becoming the battleground,” McCaul said in his opening statement.
The chairman also asked the local officials how the federal government could better use the intelligence it gathers at the local level to stop homegrown attacks.
Last weekend, the U.S. saw multiple terrorist attacks, including an improvised explosive device in New York and a stabbing in Minnesota.
