Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Wednesday that all first responders in his state will be receiving a $1,000 bonus.
The governor made the announcement during a press conference at the Satellite Beach Police Department in Brevard County.
Some want to defund the police.
In Florida, we’re funding them & then some by providing all of our heroes $1,000 bonuses. This represents more than 174,000 first responders across the state!
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— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) May 5, 2021
“Some want to defund the police, we’re funding the police and then some,” DeSantis said.
FL Gov. Ron DeSantis announces $1K bonuses to law enforcement officials in his state:
“Some want to defund the police. We’re funding the police and then some.” pic.twitter.com/qy3bhedlye
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) May 5, 2021
The bonuses will be allocated in the state’s upcoming budget and include all sworn law enforcement officers, EMTs, firefighters and paramedics, DeSantis noted.
DeSantis praised law enforcement who didn’t have the “luxury of working from home” during the pandemic.
“They were out there every single day — our police, our fire, our EMTs — and they had to work more than they ever have, not just to deal with protecting us when the pandemic hit but then obviously how police were treated last year in many parts of the country was a total disgrace.”
The governor recently signed a number of pro-law enforcement bills into law, including an “anti-riot bill” that makes it more difficult for localities to cut law enforcement budgets, allows local officials to be sued if they fail to stop a riot and enhances penalties for participants committing criminal behavior during a riot.
DeSantis has also received praise from his political supporters for signing laws that scrapped Florida’s remaining COVID-19 restrictions, targeted de-platforming from social media companies, banned critical race theory from schools, and prohibited biological males from competing in girls sports. (RELATED: ‘A Bunch Of Horse Manure’: Ron DeSantis Says Critical Race Theory Is A ‘Harmful Ideology’)
The Florida governor has been widely cited as a potential 2024 contender in the Republican presidential primary.