Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for civil rights at the Justice Department, told Newsmax on Monday that Washington, D.C., residents are thankful to have the increased police presence.
Dhillon told "Newsline" about the time a homeless person tried to steal her phone and another incident where 30 homeless people tried to grab her water bottle.
"This is the type of thing that people experience in D.C. on a daily basis," Dhillon said. "And I've seen crime tape one block away from my house and my neighborhood in Capitol Hill because of a murder that occurred just a block away from my home."
Dhillon said D.C. residents across the political spectrum are euphoric to see the presence of more police.
"It is a violation of everybody's civil rights to feel unsafe in their homes, to be worried about stray bullets, to be on the wrong side of these gangs that maraud and commit crime, petty crime all over the city. A person who works in my office as an attorney was assaulted near the Department of Justice as well."
D.C. residents are demanding more safety, Dhillon said.
"We need to have an awakening of the voting public on this issue," she said. "And we can only do so much as law enforcement until the laws are changed and people, the citizens demand safety. And we're seeing that demand here in D.C, we're seeing that being responded to in D.C."
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Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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