An upward trend in crime of all sorts across the United States — and particularly within Democratic-led jurisdictions — over the past several years has sparked intense scrutiny of far-left policies related to the justice system and policing.

Our country is facing a crime wave and Democrats are fighting to confirm pro-criminal prosecutors like Rachael Rollins.

They will be responsible for the disaster that ensues. pic.twitter.com/DEyJsgdI1c

— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) December 10, 2021

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump highlighted one recent example to make his case to voters that the nation needs to reaffirm its commitment to law and order.

New York Police Department officer Jonathan Diller was killed on Monday as he sat in a patrol vehicle during a traffic stop in Queens. A pair of suspects, who were allegedly planning to target a nearby business when officers confronted them about their illegally parked vehicle, have been arrested in connection with the fatal shooting. Another officer was also shot during the incident, but he is expected to survive.

Trump attended Diller’s wake on Thursday and made a brief statement during the funeral service.
“What happened is such a sad, sad event,” he said. “Such a horrible thing, and it’s happening all too often and we’re just not going to let it happen. We just can’t.”

The former president went on to lament that the deceased officer’s family “will never be the same,” determining that the country must “do a lot of things differently because this is not working.”

As for Guy Rivera, the suspect accused of shooting Diller, Trump noted that he had a long rap sheet including nearly two dozen prior arrests.

“This is such a sad occasion,” he continued. “The only thing we can say is maybe something is going to be learned. We’ve got to strengthen it up. We’ve got to toughen it up.”

Democratic New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who is a former NYPD officer, addressed the shooting earlier in the week.

“We’ve been talking about the severe recidivism of dangerous people over and over again and how do we stop them from coming into our streets,” he said on Tuesday. “There’s a total disregard. They could care less when they discharged that gun if they shot a cop or if they shot someone that was at Selvena Brooks-Powers’ office, who was the councilperson that it happens right near her office. Just a total disregard.”
Adams, who has distanced himself from the far-left wing of his party in the past on issues including immigration, previously addressed the ramifications of so-called progressive criminal justice reform. 

“They say the definition of insanity is to do the same thing repeatedly, but expect different results,” he said in August 2022. “Our criminal justice system is insane. It is dangerous, it’s harmful and it’s destroying the fabric of our city. Time and time again, our police officers make an arrest and then the person who is arrested for assault, felonious assault, robberies and gun possession is finding themselves back on the street within days, if not hours, after the arrest. And they go on to commit more crimes within weeks, if not days.”