During the Tuesday night, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz spoke urgently about the need for gun control while answering a question about preventing school shootings.
Ohio Sen. JD Vance, on the other hand, spoke of increasing police presence at schools in his answer, talking of the need to 鈥渁rrest the bad guys, put them away and take offenders off the streets.鈥�
The answers highlight the disparate philosophies the two candidates have on law and order and ensuring public safety in the country.
On the campaign trail and in his career on Capitol Hill, Vance has positioned himself as a staunch supporter of police, including introducing a resolution in Congress last year expressing .
Some key context: In 2022, the city council in Washington, D.C. , which banned neck restraints, improved access to footage from officer body worn cameras, strengthened officer training and further restricted when and how officers use force, among other changes.
In response 鈥� and because Congress ultimately has legislative control over the nation鈥檚 capital 鈥� Vance in the House that would have nullified the reforms. In his comments about the resolution, which did not pass, Vance as hindering officers with 鈥渢hese ridiculous exhaustion requirements before they can use lethal force to protect themselves and people around them.鈥�
Though Vance as a 鈥渘ever Trump guy,鈥� he is now a devoted supporter of the former president, who has also positioned himself as a tough-on-crime candidate. Indeed, 鈥渞eplenish鈥� police departments, stand up to 鈥淢arxist鈥� prosecutors and protect officers from 鈥渇rivolous鈥� lawsuits. As president, Trump鈥檚 on suing police departments for violations of civil rights.
Watch NPR's post-debate analysis, with Asma Khalid, Susan Davis, Tamara Keith and Stephen Fowler.
Walz鈥檚 record on policing is very different. In the years since a police officer murdered George Floyd in Minneapolis, the governor has a number of police reforms in the state, including a ban on chokeholds, 鈥渨arrior-style鈥� police training and mandating that officers intervene if another officer uses excessive force.
Under Walz, the Minnesota Department of Human Rights with the city after Floyd鈥檚 death, aimed at reforming the police department and increasing accountability. However, he in 2021 to replace the Minneapolis Police Department with a new public safety agency, which many saw as an attempt to defund the police in the city.
After Harris chose Walz as her running mate, the Republican National Committee calling the pair 鈥渨eak on crime, defund the police liberals.鈥� Specifically, they claimed that Walz 鈥渓et rioters burn the Twin Cities.鈥� Vance has also aimed this criticism at Walz.
In the days after the murder of Floyd, demonstrations sprung up around the city. After dark, some protests turned violent and people damaged property and set fire to buildings.
In response, Walz did deploy the Minnesota National Guard and the state patrol to help Minneapolis police respond to the city鈥檚 unrest. But the public鈥檚 reaction to his response in the years since: Conservatives have claimed Walz was too slow to act, while some liberals have said he was not progressive enough in his response.
Two days after Floyd鈥檚 death, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey requested that Walz call in the National Guard to assist police. Initially, Walz and his administration said they didn鈥檛 want to further inflame tensions with a surge of National Guard and state troopers. At the time, Walz for Frey to request assistance before sending in the National Guard.
A day later, Walz activated a first round of National Guard members to assist police across the region. That night, demonstrators breached the Third Police Precinct in Minneapolis and set it ablaze.
Regarding the crisis, Frey said he and that the governor acted too late. A that Frey didn鈥檛 consult the appropriate department to request National Guard soldiers, which may have delayed their arrival, and offered insufficient detail about where the city needed support. Walz : "If the issue was that the state should have moved faster, that is on me."
Copyright 2024 NPR
