Wichita Standard

U.S. Congressman Ron Estes (R-Kansas) appeared on Washington Watch with Tony Perkins, hosted by Jody Hice, to discuss crime in Washington, D.C., recent violent incidents, and federal responses to public safety concerns.

During the interview, Estes addressed the shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church. He stated, “Well, it's really a sad story that you see another story where children are killed and injured.  There's no place for that kind of violence in our schools or targeting elected officials or anyone … It's sad that there's that kind of anger and hatred that would drive these individuals to go commit those heinous acts of crime.”

Estes also spoke about the loss of Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, an intern in his office who was killed in Washington. “Eric Tarpinian-Jachym was a 21-year-old. He was about to be a senior at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He was serving as an intern in our office, and he was a great young man.

“It's a sad state that in our nation's capital, there have been over 100 people killed on the city streets this year. We should want to be proud of our capital. We should want to be able to have a showcase that we could have Americans come visit or we could have foreign dignitaries come and visit. Eric's tragic death is one of those things that should never have happened.

“As a parent, I want my children to have the opportunity to take advantage of some of these things. But, for him to come and lose his life because of that is a sad state. We need to make sure that we provide safe streets and we protect Americans across the country.

“Of course, Washington, D.C.'s a federal district. It's different than the cities in different states. President Trump's really stepped up in terms of saying the federal government has responsibility to help maintain law and order in Washington, D.C. and helping make sure that that happens.”

He commented on President Trump’s recent efforts against crime: “...There’s a stark difference now. In the first 10 days or so that the enhanced law enforcement support from the National Guard happened, there weren't any murders. Unfortunately, in the last couple of days there has been another one, just because of the crime in the streets. But, you know, that offsets the first seven months of the year.

“There were over a hundred people killed on the streets in Washington, D.C., which is worse than other capitals around the world: Bogota and Lima and Madrid and even Chicago. It's worse, six times worse, the rate of murders per 100,000 citizens, in New York City … Between the murder rate’s about 27.5 per 100,000 people and the car jackings and car thefts about 840 per 100,000 people.

“We want to make sure that the streets are safe and the president's been doing a good job. We've seen a marked decrease … Violent crime’s gone down 40% in the last couple of weeks, which is important for Americans to feel safe and foreign visitors to feel safe as well."

On what happens after President Trump’s orders expire after thirty days regarding federal intervention: “I think part of what we've seen is by having National Guard available to help patrol streets; police department can actually focus on solving some cases backlog for them… They really have not solved Eric's death… Ultimately it also relies on some discussions around defunding police… Going back several years ago…the local government decided cut funding for their police,and it's nowhere near recovered same trajectory it would have been on… I think that's part needs addressed as well making sure adequate funding provided help make sure we have safe streets…”

Estes discussed priorities for future legislation: “I think primary overall goal looking at is we want make sure protect Americans…whether they're in Washington DC…Wichita Kansas…New York or even California with some riots protests against illegal immigration…

“We want make sure Americans protected…make sure crime bill actually focuses funding being provided from federal government utilized help support those law enforcement…”

Ron Estes currently serves as U.S Representative for Kansas’ 4th District since replacing Mike Pompeo in 2017 (https://estes.house.gov/about/). Born in Topeka in 1956 and residing now in Wichita (https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/E000298), Estes holds a Bachelor’s degree from Tennessee Technological University.