but first. our major cities did not get the merry christmas citizens wanted this year, for some it was a downright scary christmas there. were many cities where santa stayed in the air. we report isolated crime events throughout the year particularly in l.a. and new york but the national crime picture often gets ignored. when you look at the year it was it takes your breath away or at least it should. this is video of linda fricke, a 73-year-old grandmother from new orleans who was in her car when four teens rushed it, forcing her out. she got caught in the safety belt and they dragged her, it severed her arm from her body and she bled to death in the street. at least they capture her four attackers but so many times these cases go unsolved. this is just one of the more than 260 homicides in new orleans since the start of the year. my hometown of new orleans is set to become the murder capital of the country this week with a 52% in homicides since 2019. today another man was
dwi with alcohol and now we re going to add to it and make it worse. it s amazing to me. the public pays the consequences, not the perpetrator. a final quick question. bran don, i ll start with you, people in l.a., new york, hiring personal security squads. is this the answer to public safety in america today, brandon? it s going to end up being that way because if you continue to de moralize, dehumanize, and not give them the tools that are necessary and the support that s necessary to do their job, you re going to have nothing left. police departments are decimated. people are leaving the force. people aren t signing up anymore and this is the result of bad policy. i m hoping that one day people get their act together and allow police officers in america to be police officers again and we wouldn t have to have people hiring their own independent security force. it s a waste of money. people are all paying taxes.
are charged, what is your sense? how optimistic are you that there will actually be convictions in this case? look we have to stay optimistic about the opportunity for justice to be done here. at the same time we have to be you know, we cannot forget what we saw happen in the trayvon case and so many other cases. i think you will expect that protesters across the country, that people across the country frankly are wiser now. we have seen so many of these cases where the cops have not been convicted and folks will stay out there and stay focused until justice is done. the protests maybe end but everybody will be watching. bran don, what about the curfew? last night it was enforced again, 10:00 p.m. curfew. some arrests overnight of people out past curfew. is that something you would like to see and may be lifted starting tonight? well i hope so. i actually i heard from one of