Since the tragic killing of George Floyd by disgraced police officers in Minneapolis, Americans are discussing issues regarding race, law enforcement and criminal justice with renewed passion and openness. Many of these discussions have been productive. Many of them are long overdue.

As a lawmaker, I can confirm that there is an appetite for common-sense criminal justice reform on both sides of the aisle. I supported a bill outfitting New York State Police officers with body cameras. I was one of the few members on my side of the aisle to support the STAT Act, legislation requiring law enforcement agencies to collect and publicize demographic data about an array of interactions between officers and residents.

These were thoughtful reforms. Even as a legislator open to compromise, however, I am deeply concerned about the damaging rhetoric, radical actions, and misguided policy proposals we’ve been hearing from the left. It seems that for every measured step forward we take, there are radical voices demanding we carelessly leap in the wrong direction.

Sen. Jessica Ramos actually called for defunding the police on the Senate floor. While there was initially some debate as to whether or not progressives meant for their plea to be taken literally, their standard-bearer, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, made their stance crystal-clear. “Defunding the police means defunding the police,” she said. In the eyes of leftists, Mayor de Blasio’s billion dollar cut to the NYPD budget wasn’t misguided because escalating violence is tearing families and neighborhoods apart.

They hate it because it wasn’t enough.

It’s part of a broader pattern. Last session, Majority pushed dangerous changes to our bail laws through the Legislature in the middle of the night. They prevented judges from imposing pre-trial detention on dangerous defendants, even when they knew the criminal presented an imminent threat to public safety. Cartel operatives, sex criminals, killers, and all manner of repeat offenders walked out of their arraignments and back into their communities without even posting bail.

We argued that this was an extreme policy. My colleagues and I knew it was guaranteed to compromise public safety. The results speak for themselves. I attended a press conference this week with law enforcement leaders from across the state. We highlighted some alarming statistics. Homicides in New York City have increased 27% since last year. Shootings are up 63%. In Buffalo, homicides are up 88%. In the state capital, homicides have increased by a staggering 800%.

At a time when public safety is eroding across the state, we need committed, dedicated, fair-minded police officers more than ever. Lucky for us, nearly all of them are. Recently, the Majority passed a deeply misguided bill that would make all disciplinary records of police officers public. Even unsubstantiated or false claims would be presented without context or explanation. I knew this would do absolutely nothing to improve the already fraught relationship between some citizens and some police departments.

I asked my colleagues to do exactly what I’m going to ask you to do now: imagine that it is the morning of September 11, 2001. You just arrived to your morning shift at your precinct. You’re having your first cup of coffee; you’re filling out paperwork. You glance up at the television, only to see the most harrowing, indelible image in recent American history- a commercial airplane is crashing into the World Trade Center.

You don’t think. You don’t weigh your options. There’s no cost benefit analysis, no hesitation. You just go. You go because you promised to protect and serve. You go put your life on the line because that’s the job.

Building a safer, fairer, and more prosperous society is going to take Minority and Majority working together to build consensus. There are lot of options on the table. There’s one that we need to dismiss- demonizing the brave men and women who protect us, no matter how dangerous the circumstances. We can work together to promote racial equality. We can work together to pass sensible criminal justice reform, and we can work together to ensure we’re carrying out the most essential function of state government- promoting public safety.