Defunding Protests

From Reuters:

“Democrats grapple with U.S. protesters' demand to defund the police”

U.S. Democrats have largely embraced the activists packing into streets nationwide to decry the killings of black men and women by law enforcement but so far express wariness at protesters’ calls to defund the police.  While they are clearly attuned to the cries of demonstrators from New York to Los Angeles, some top Democratic elected officials are proceeding cautiously with any suggestion they would slash police budgets to fund programs to address other social ills.  Senator Cory Booker said during an interview Sunday on NBC News that he understood the sentiment behind the “defund the police” push but would not use that phrase.  “We are over-policed as a society,” he said, adding that spending on police departments was not solving problems.  Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries of New York said on Sunday said he did not support any plans to cut police funding in his state.  “You have to look at that on a case-by-case basis,” Jeffries told CNN. Democrats led by black lawmakers are set to introduce legislation on Monday to combat police violence and racial injustice, including making it easier to sue officers who kill. Whether the bill will include any cuts to federal funding for police departments remains unclear.  California Representative Karen Bass, chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus and one of the driving forces behind that package, said on Sunday that she opposed disbanding police departments but that funding priorities should be evaluated.  “I don’t believe that you should disband police departments,” she said on CNN. “We need to look at how we are spending the resources and invest more in our communities.”  Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota — the state where the police killing of George Floyd sparked the current wave of protests — on Friday called for the Minneapolis police department to be disbanded, tweeting that it was “beyond reform.”  Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey was jeered by protesters on Saturday after he told them he opposed their demands to defund police.  President Donald Trump has seized on the funding issue as an attack line against his presumptive Democratic opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden.  “Sleepy Joe Biden and the Radical Left Democrats want to ‘DEFUND THE POLICE,’” Trump wrote in a Sunday tweet. “I want great and well paid LAW ENFORCEMENT. I want LAW & ORDER!”  A Biden campaign spokesman declined to comment. Biden had pledged a slate of criminal justice reforms before the latest wave of protests. They include stepping up Department of Justice investigations of police abuse and increased funding to build ties between police and community members.

^ What do people who call for the complete abolition of all the Police Forces across the nation think will replace them?  Answer: Armed Militias and Gangs. It will be like "The Purge" only every single day. Getting rid of the Police Forces or defunding them is not a very smart answer. There needs to be MORE! More oversight on the Police. More training for the Police. More use of body cams by the Police. More criminal charges and punishments brought on corrupt and violent Police Officers. Getting rid of the Police is not a realistic option because then you will have a major hole in law enforcement that will have to be filled by either the National Guard or the US Military. More likely that hole will be filled by random citizens who will take the law into their own hands. People should want change and they should call for it through non-violent means, but the change needs to be based on reality and not far-fetched like disbanding every Police Force across the US.  ^

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-minneapolis-police-defunding/democrats-grapple-with-u-s-protesters-demand-to-defund-the-police-idUSKBN23E0RS