Defund-police supporters tell Biden they're 'not going away'

 Supporters of defunding the police say they are "not going away" just because Joe Biden will be the next president.

"What we’ve heard so far from the Democratic Party is what they’re not going to do," defund advocate Andrea Ritchie told Mother Jones. "I don’t expect they will be supportive of the main demand from the streets ... It's gonna be a fight. We're not going away."

Biden embraced some calls for police reform during his presidential campaign, such as a ban on chokeholds and the creation of a national police oversight commission. But he opposed far-left efforts to defund the police, a catch-all term for anything from reducing police budgets to abolishing law enforcement completely. Biden instead pushed for $300 million in additional police funding, mainly for improved training.

"I’m very pessimistic about what we can expect, at least initially, from the Biden administration,” said Alex Vitale, a professor and author of a book about police abolition. “He’s made it very clear that he wants to put more resources into policing, that he supports the kind of superficial and ineffective procedural reforms that the Obama administration proposed.”

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Portland police union files legal challenge against civilian police oversight board

 PORTLAND, Ore — The union representing Portland’s police officers has filed a legal challenge against voter-approved Measure 26-217, which is set to establish a civilian police oversight board.

In a press release, the Portland Police Association (PPA) called the measure “terrible public policy.”

“The PPA is committed to open discussions on police reform and accountability, but this measure has been flawed from the very beginning,” the statement said.

That committee would have the power to subpoena officers to testify and impose discipline, including firing. Right now, according to the Portland Police Union contract, the only person who can fire an officer is the police commissioner Mayor Ted Wheeler.

That contract is up for negotiation in January, and PPA president Daryl Turner has argued the Measure thwarts any ability of the city to bargain in good faith.

"From a legal standpoint, the city’s move is fatally flawed," Thursday's press release stated. "Under Oregon law, the very existence of a disciplinary board must be negotiated with the PPA before being sent to the voters. That is a basic, labor law principle."

The measure, which would create an oversight board independent of any existing city bureau, was spearheaded by Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty. Hardesty is called out by name in the statement from the police association.

“This measure was constructed by Commissioner Hardesty without a full and proper discussion, behind closed doors, and without any communication or bargaining with the PPA,” the statement reads.

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If a city defunds its police, Louisiana would defund that city under proposed bill

Voting largely along party lines, Republicans in the Louisiana House Appropriations committee Monday advanced legislation that could cost local governments state dollars if police budgets are reduced.

But passage came at a political price for House Bill 38’s sponsor, Republican Rep. Lance Harris, of Alexandria.

One opponent, Democratic Rep. Gary Carter, of New Orleans, called the measure a “political stunt” and demanded Harris return his campaign contribution.

Harris is running for the 5th District Congressional seat that is being vacated by U.S. Rep. Ralph Abraham, R-Alto.

“The idea to defund police has become popular in some respects over the last several months,” Harris said. “There needs to be some discussion as to why.”

His Louisiana Police Funding Protection Act would require universities, parishes, and municipalities to notify the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget, in writing, of any reductions in law enforcement funding and to appear before the panel if the funding drops 10% or greater. If the legislative committee, comprised of members of both the House Appropriations and Senate Finance committees, finds that the budget cuts have a “significant and harmful” effect on public safety, then the university or local government would lose it's money for construction projects and it's appropriations from sales tax dedications.

“Law and order and the safety of our citizens is the underpinning of our free enterprise system,” Harris said.

Harris pointed to a student protest at Tulane University, but acknowledged that neither the private New Orleans school nor any local government in Louisiana has supported taking money from the police.

Democrats voiced concerns that universities routinely have their state appropriations reduced and often have to resort to across the board cuts. Some police departments, wanting to increase salaries, reduce other programs.

Harris countered that the members of the joint legislative committee are reasonable people who would take such circumstances into consideration.

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Police funding debate continues as key Asheville City Council meeting approaches

 

Asheville, NC - Now, just seven weeks before the November election, the Defund the Police movement continues to be hotly debated by members of both political parties.

Following protests after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, calls to defund grew increasingly loud.

“I think it is becoming politicized. I think it’s been politicized really from the beginning,” Western Carolina University political science professor Chris Cooper said.

Cooper said the discussion's falling on natural party lines.

“So, Republican Party tends to be the party of law and order - that’s really how they want to be perceived. The Democrats, on the other side, have clearly been the party that is more concerned of issues of inequality and of racial injustice,” he said.

Earlier this week, Republican House Speaker Tim Moore held a news conference. During it, he blasted Democrats, saying many had signed a pledge to defund law enforcement and use police money on other programs.

“The last thing we need to be talking about is reallocating assets from law enforcement and defunding the police,” Moore said.

Representatives John Ager and Joe Sam Queen said that's just not true.

They said the pledge they and other candidates signed two years ago from the group Future Now focused on jobs, health care and equality.

“Tim Moore has just decided to tell a lie about me and some other members of North Carolina House, I guess,” Queen said.

“It’s pretty bogus. This is something I signed onto in 2018 and has nothing to do with the current controversies,” Ager added.

Republican Jake Johnson agrees the discussion around the movement has become politicized.

“It’s something that I never thought in my lifetime would be a partisan issue, so it’s a shame it’s come to that,” Johnson said.

“The election is in November and the Republicans have gone to their tried and true issue law and order to try to get as many votes as they can. I think it’s as simple as that,” Ager said.

It’s a topic all lawmakers believe will be on people's minds as they head to the polls.

“I think what they’ve done is going to play very poorly for the Democrats in November,” Johnson said.

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Protests against increases to Gainesville Police Department’s budget

The masked crowd responded when it was asked what it would do with $1 million. 

Close the achievement gap. Provide free WiFi. Fund East Gainesville. They made one thing clear as they stood on the sidelines of Gainesville’s 5 p.m. traffic — no more funding for Gainesville Police.

More than 70 people gathered at the corner of Main Street and University Avenue Thursday evening to protest Gainesville City Commission’s proposed $1 million increase to GPD’s budget.  The protest was organized by the GoDDsville Dream Defenders, the local chapter of an organization founded after the death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

The protesters faced University Avenue and chanted “No justice, no peace. Defund the police” before they gathered in a circle around a white tent and listened to speakers, a poet and a rapper. 

In the proposed budget, the Gainesville City Commission plans to increase GPD’s budget from $36 million to $37 million next year, leading organizer Manu Osorio said. The commission also passed a $3 million plan in early August to upgrade police officers’ body cameras, Osorio said. 

“We have to show that we are here together as a community, and we have the power to change things,” Osorio said. 

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AUSTIN MAY CUT POLICE BUDGET BY NEARLY $150 MILLION

This week, the Austin City Council will consider one of the most substantial cuts to a major city’s police budget since George Floyd’s death, which sparked calls across the country to defund law enforcement and redirect that money to services like violence prevention, supportive housing, and substance use treatment.

Three City Council members have put forth a joint proposal to shrink the police department’s budget by nearly $150 million and reinvest those funds in services for the community. It would reduce the police department’s budget for the first time in over a decade. Advocates have called on the city to cut APD’s budget by at least $100 million; the joint proposal would do that, and move an additional $50 million from the Austin Police Department budget to a transition fund.

“Our primary response to problems as a local government is policing,” Councilmember Gregorio Casar told The Appeal. “Our community has come together like never before and demanded that change, and set a goal post of $100 million as a signal to that change.”

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Police anti-defunding rally in front of Seattle City Hall

An ongoing debate about whether to “defund” the Seattle Police Department by redirecting much of its budget to social services and community-based solutions played out Saturday morning in City Hall’s front plaza as opponents rallied against the idea and proponents also made their voices heard.

Moments after a “Defend not Defund” rally began with 100 to 200 people in attendance, a counterprotester stationed in the crowd began playing the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech loudly out of a large speaker.

In response, some “defend” demonstrators pressed around the counterprotester with signs and many in the crowd chanted “USA, USA,” almost drowning out the civil rights leader’s speech.

Police officers spoke with the counterprotester and then escorted the person to the corner of the block, outside metal barricades. Some in the crowd jeered. As the rally resumed, officers blocked a few dozen “defund” protesters while allowing people who said they were “defend” rally participants to walk past the barricades. 

Demonstrators traded sharp words over the barricades.Lt. Truong Nguyen, a Police Department supervisor there, said the officers were handling the event that way because the rally had a permit. “We don’t want (to have the two sides) clash,” Nguyen said.

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