MSNBC contributor voices alarm on DC crime, says issue is 'personal' and many are frustrated

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An MSNBC contributor admitted Wednesday that "many people" in Washington, D.C., are "frustrated with crime." 

"And I live in Washington," said the network's justice and legal affairs analyst Anthony Coley on Wednesday's "Morning Joe," adding, "This is personal for me."

"Many people are frustrated with crime that we see, particularly committed by juveniles in the - in the city of Washington. People are frustrated, Willie, that they, when they go to CVS to buy deodorant, that they have to - from behind locked plexiglass, right?" he told co-host Willie Geist, referring to having to call an attendant to unlock products from cases in stores due to rampant shoplifting.

"But the response here - and you know, let me say this, right, these are not just random anecdotes," Coley said. "What we see in Washington Post polling, among others, is that roughly half of D.C. residents, mostly half of D.C. residents, view this as a serious problem or an extremely serious problem."

DC ATTORNEY GENERAL BRIAN SCHWALB SLAMS TRUMP'S FEDERAL TAKEOVER, BREAKING WITH POLICE UNION

Many in the press have criticized President Donald Trump's Monday announcement that he would be taking control of D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department and would deploy 800 National Guard troops to the nation's capital.

On Tuesday, however, "Morning Joe" co-host Joe Scarborough said that some in the liberal media were not being completely honest about their concerns regarding crime in D.C. 

Scarborough called out one reporter for publicly disparaging Trump's takeover while privately expressing fears about their own safety in the city. 

"This is interesting," Scarborough said. "I actually heard from a reporter when this happened, going, 'Well, you know, if he doesn't overreach, this could actually be a good thing for quality of life,' etc., because in D.C. right now, I had this happen to my family and I had that, and they go down the list. And then I saw him tweet something completely different."

WASHINGTON POST SOURCE SAYS DC IS SAFE BUT STAYS ANONYMOUS OVER 'PERSONAL SAFETY' CONCERNS

Since Aug. 7, law enforcement officials in Washington, D.C., have arrested over 100 people. 

Later in the segment, however, Coley said that Trump's response was excessive. 

"Now, having said all of that, I want to be clear that this does not justify the disproportionate response that we are seeing from Donald Trump," Coley said. "It is a political stunt. He is exploiting people's fears. But to be frank, Democrats on the D.C. Council have created this political opening that allows him to do that."

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Coley added, "Now, I'm not naive, Willie. I suspect that even if juvenile crime wasn't a problem, Donald Trump would have taken the actions that we have seen in recent days. But from a raw political perspective, you never want to give your political opponent an opening to address the needs that many of your constituents have. And that's what we're seeing playing out right now.