North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein should deploy the National Guard to Charlotte to assist the city’s police department, which has been overwhelmed by a surge in violent crime, according to Rep. Mark Harris on Newsmax Thursday.
“Our own police, the Fraternal Order of Police, had made this plea for help from the National Guard. They cited recently that they are 270-plus officers understaffed,” the North Carolina Republican said on Newsmax’s “National Report.”
“This is a situation that we find ourselves in, that we just believe that it was time for the governor to bring in the help,” he added.
North Carolina lawmakers have sent Stein a letter requesting the deployment after reports that Charlotte saw eight homicides in seven days, with the murder rate in the city’s uptown area more than 200% higher than a year ago.
Harris said the goal of bringing in the National Guard isn’t to replace local police officers, but to provide support while city leaders develop longer-term solutions.
“We feel like the National Guard, if they came in, would be a deterrent to what’s going on right now with this crime wave that we’re seeing in Charlotte,” he said.
Harris added that the deployment “would give our police the backup that they need while they are able to come up with a more long-term plan.”
Stein’s office pushed back against the idea, saying local officers “who live and know their communities are best equipped” to keep neighborhoods safe.
The governor, a Democrat, has called on the legislature to fund pay raises, recruitment and retention bonuses, and mental health programs for law enforcement across the state.
However, Harris said those proposals haven’t been enough to meet the urgency of the moment.
“The reality is no, we’ve not seen that,” he said. “That is great intentions, but we’ve got a crime issue here in Charlotte and the National Guard would be able to come in and deter crime while we are developing some of these long-term solutions.”
Harris said Charlotte’s Fraternal Order of Police was the first to call for help, warning that the department is stretched too thin.
“It’s proven in Washington, D.C., and in Memphis that the National Guard, when they come in, can become that deterrent that brings confidence back to the citizens of Charlotte,” he said.
Harris also commented on the ongoing federal government shutdown, now the longest in U.S. history, calling Senate Democrats’ refusal to pass a continuing resolution to reopen the government “unforgivable.”
“If they would just pass it, even to Nov. 21, they can open the government today,” he said. “They need to forget the politics of pain they’re putting the American people through.”
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