Nationally, crime has decreased over those decades you mention. However, murders have increased (nationally) since the beginning of the Covid pandemic.

Since these trends also hold in Burlington, I’m inclined to believe “defunding the police” wasn’t as involved as you seem to suggest.

As another commenter suggested, you might find better luck attempting to foster a discussion instead of starting a fight: “I’m concerned about the number of homicides in Burlington over [time period you didn’t include]. This is a notable increase compared to previous years. Is there evidence that the “defund the police” movement caused this?”

Imagine you’re running for congress a criminal handed you $26k of ill-gotten money, and then became the focus of a Federal investigation. Then imagine you win the congressional seat and have a lot of work to do, because your constituents are scrutinizing your every move as a new representative. Wouldn’t you leave this issue of $26k from a criminal to people who are better at navigating a quagmire of campaign finance laws and Federal investigations so you could focus, say, on the work you were elected to do?