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By Ray Hanania

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Protecting our police isn’t a political statement. It’s the foundation of ensuring the public safety of law-abiding citizens.

But law-abiding citizens are under siege, victims of criminals who have histories of violence but are given leniency for reasons of race and politics. And police lives are in jeopardy at the hands of criminals released on bond who go out and kill more, or who draw weapons on police when stopped for not wearing a seat belt.

There is no situation in which any citizen should be able to refuse a demand from a police officer. If you pull or fire a gun or weapon in response, then you surrender all your rights.

Ray Hanania

Dexter Reed is the latest criminal hailed by the Hate the Police movement. Reed was driving his car when police pulled him over last month. He responded by shooting the police officer who asked him to roll down his window. As Reed got out of the car, after shooting the officer, police responded by shooting him dead.

Police haters argue police couldn’t see the driver not wearing a seat belt, because his windows were tinted. But it doesn’t matter. What matters is Reed pulled a gun and fired at the police officer in response.

Why police pulled him over is irrelevant. Refusing to respond to a police officer’s request is illegal. When you refuse, and pull and fire a gun, you lose all your rights.

Reed isn’t the victim of police brutality. He is the victim of an attitude fueled by Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx and the criminals who support her policy of placing the rights of criminals with weapons above the rights of law-abiding citizens.

Why would politicians like JB Pritzker allow motorists to tint their windows so dark no one can see inside? (You can see if someone is wearing a seat belt because so far the corrupt politicians haven’t allowed motorists to tint their front windshields. That’s coming, people.)

It doesn’t matter whether police fire one bullet or 100 bullets at a person who pulls out a gun and who fires at a police officer. Police have a right to fire at anyone who pulls out and or fires a gun — or any threatening weapon — at them.

Like many in Illinois, I’m sick and tired of hearing people defend criminals involved in gun confrontations with police. It doesn’t matter if the suspects are beaten or killed. The criminals brought it on themselves.

We need to toughen our laws. You have a gun and you point it or shoot it at police, police are justified to use deadly force.

If you are facing violent charges–especially involving a gun–you should never be released from custody so you can go out and kill someone.

If you are charged with inflicting violence on anyone, you should not be allowed to go out and kill someone else. If you are charged and convicted of having or using a gun, you should go to jail for a minimum of 10 years. Even more if you injure or kill someone. The sentence should be mandatory.

By the way, no one in the media cares about the police officer shot in the arm and almost killed by Reed. That’s the result of putting criminal interest above law-abiding interests.

And it isn’t about race. It doesn’t matter if you are Dexter Reed, Adam Toledo or the white parents like James and Jennifer Crumbley, who bought their son a gun. Criminals must accept the consequences of criminal actions.

Ray Hanania is a former Chicago City Hall reporter and award-winning columnist. Visit hanania.com for more opinion.