Seattle, Washington’s plan to defund their police department by 50%, hit some snags this week, as hundreds of residents spoke up against the defunding push. Hundreds of concerned citizens brought their positions to the city council budget meeting on Wednesday in an effort to stop the proposed the PD budget cut the council was vying for.
Fox Q13 reported that one member of the public reportedly told the council, “Defunding the police is a radical experiment that will hurt the vulnerable.” A 50% cut in the budget would result in a huge cut in officer positions, something many citizens are seeing as a very bad idea.
The Minneapolis City Council supported the idea of abolishing their police department, however the Minneapolis Charter Commission voted this week to keep that proposal off of November’s ballot, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
There is yet another measure waiting in the wings though – that one would remove the requirement to have a police department at all. Instead, a community safety department would be put into place; whether or not it would employ officers isn’t known.
