Abdul El-Sayed, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Michigan, has come under fire for his past comments on policing. In a 2018 speech at Harvard, El-Sayed accused the state’s police of profiling, saying, “We have a system of policing that seems to want to police on top of people rather than police with people.” He also stated, “The probability of closing a murder in Detroit is extremely low. And yet the cops will pick on you because you look a particular kind of way.”

El-Sayed’s Views on Policing

El-Sayed’s comments have sparked controversy, particularly in light of his efforts to scrub his social media of posts criticizing law enforcement. Despite rejecting language that pits “left” against “right” and “progressives” against “conservatives,” El-Sayed has raised eyebrows nationally for his messaging on key issues, including his support for increasing the role of government and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

El-Sayed has also faced criticism for his past support of the “defund the police” movement, which he now appears to be distancing himself from. In a June 2020 post on X, El-Sayed wrote, “Most major US cities spend WAY TOO MUCH on police departments to police poverty & WAY TOO LITTLE on public schools, health departments, recreation departments, & housing to eliminate poverty. Fixing that is what the #Defund movement is about.” The post has since been deleted, and El-Sayed has declined to explain why he removed it.

Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.