The White House on Thursday downplayed the notion that FBI Director James Comey and President Obama are not in sync when it comes to community policing and explaining the uptick in crime in some cities.
There is “still no evidence to substantiate the claim that the increase in violent crime is related to an unwillingness of police officers to do their job,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said. “And I know that this is an observation that the Fraternal Order of Police has made in indicating that they don’t believe that their members are afraid to get out of their cars and do their jobs.”
The theory that the chance of having police actions captured on film and possibly misinterpreted is preventing police from engaging suspects, known as the “Ferguson Effect,” is gaining adherents. Comey on Wednesday said he thinks the Ferguson Effect could be real, a position diametrically opposed by the Obama administration.
The “viral video effect could well be at the heart” of a crime spike in some communities, Comey told reporters on Wednesday.
In response, Earnest was quick to point out that the nation’s top cop only said the theory may have merit.
Comey “actually made clear that he didn’t know exactly what was going on either,” Earnest said in explaining why Obama stands by his FBI director.” This “is a complicated issue; and that’s exactly the way that he described it.”
Obama’s concerns with higher violent crime rates in some places “is really focused on rebuking this false choice between protecting civil rights and fighting crime,” he said. The “vast majority” of police across the country “do both,” Earnest said, adding that statistics bear out that there is no nationwide surge in crime.
