FBI Director James Comey is right when
he says police are holding back on doing their jobs for fear of being labeled racists, former New York Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik tells
Newsmax TV.
Critics, including the White House, have said Comey doesn't have evidence, but it's pretty much impossible to gather such evidence, Kerik told "Newsmax Prime" host J.D. Hayworth.
"Unless you go around and you interview various police departments and various police officers, you're not going to have statistical evidence," he said. "The reality is cops in this country today feel like there's a war against them. They feel like they're not being supported by their governors, by their mayors, by their city administrators and in doing so and having that feeling, I don't think they're going to put themselves on the line."
Police will still respond to 911 calls, Kerik said, but won't engage in aggressive policing for fear of jeopardizing their careers.
Watch Newsmax TV on
DirectTV Ch. 349, DISH Ch. 223 and Verizon FiOS Ch. 115. Get Newsmax TV on your cable system –
Click Here Now
Kerik said movie director Quentin Tarantino should apologize for calling police "murderers" at a recent rally. Police unions have called for a boycott of his films, including his current release, "The Hateful Eight."
"He owes the police an apology and it's going to be up to the unions whether they accept it or not," Kerik said.
The former commissioner also has been an advocate of prison sentencing reform, and said critics of President Barack Obama's have "jumped the gun."
The changes were made more than a year ago, he said, it is just now that some prisoners are beginning to be released.
The bigger issue is reform of the overall criminal justice system, Kerik said.
"Prison is an institutional learning center for thuggery and criminality, and we're taking first-time, nonviolent offenders, we're turning them into thugs and then we're sending them home," he said.
Related Stories:
© 2019 Newsmax. All rights reserved.