RUMster

Sheriff Chris Swanson, the elected Sheriff of Genesee County, Michigan, is a career law-enforcement officer, not a pundit. He became nationally known in 2020 for prioritizing de-escalation during protests. What he says about the Minneapolis shooting directly exposes how bad MAGA-era policing policies fail. Swanson calls the shooting tragic but predictable. Masked federal agents in unmarked vehicles confronted a 37-year-old woman, gave unclear commands, and then fired three shots as her car was backing up and turning away. The agent who fired was not hit, not run over, and not in the vehicle’s path. Two shots were fired as the car was already driving away. That is not lawful deadly force. That is bad policy producing bad outcomes. Swanson is blunt about the force continuum. You do not shoot people who are fleeing. You do not shoot when you are not in danger. “Tough on crime” slogans do not override use-of-force standards, no matter how loudly MAGA politicians repeat them. What follows is worse. After the woman was shot and crashed, Swanson saw no attempt at life-saving aid. No urgency. No trauma response. He contrasts this with his own deputies, who once returned fire on a suspect who had already killed two people, then immediately tried to save his life anyway. That is professional policing. What happened in Minneapolis was not. He also points to missing body cams and officers leaving the scene instead of securing it for investigation. These are not accidents. They are the results of policies that reward aggression and optics over training and accountability. Swanson makes one thing clear. Calling this out is not anti-police. Blind loyalty is what damages law enforcement. Accountability is what protects it.