Austin, Texas became the last city to defend the police on Thursday when the city council unanimously approved a $ 150 million cut to its budget for the police department – about 34% of its current total – and reinvested the funds in other services. , reported The Texas Tribune.
According to the proposal, there is a direct cut of $ 21.5 million that will be invested in a wide range of programs, including mental health response, permanent supportive housing, access to food, access to abortion, a position of early childhood coordinator and violence prevention.
Another roughly $ 80 million will go into a “Decouple Fund” that will transfer many civil services, such as forensic science and victim services, outside the police department.
PORTLAND POLICE STILL RIGHT TEAR GAS RESIDUE, STREETS TOXINS
The rest of the money, about $ 49 million, will go into a ‘Reimagine Safety Fund’, the purpose of which is to direct ‘dollars of the fund to alternative forms of public safety and community support, through the year-long reimagining process. ‘
The Austin Police Association tweeted that the proposal is “ridiculous and unsafe” and ignores “the majority who do not want the police to be defeated.”
Activists who have applied to be received by the police were also not happy with the final agreement. Communities of Color United, an Austin activist group, requested a 50% investment, amounting to $ 220 million. They also said that a majority of the funds is an accounting shift that the police could still access in the near future.
Austin Mayor Steve Adler said Thursday during the City Council meeting that this was not about respecting the police department.
AG A GEORGE FLOYD CASE WANTS TO REMIND ALL FOUR LANGUAGES IN SLAYING
“I want to make it clear that this budget is not punishable, it is not meant to punish police. We will work together to improve public safety in Austin,” said Mayor Adler. “We are needed and I welcome the knowledge, expertise and goodwill that our first responders will bring to this process.”
Austin is just the last U.S. city to take steps toward defending police in the wake of George Floyd’s death while he was detained in May by Minneapolis police.
The nation’s two largest cities, New York and Los Angeles, were one of the first to take action. The New York City Council approved in June a $ 1 billion cut for the NYPD’s spending as part of its $ 88.19 billion budget for 2021. CBS Los Angeles reported July 1 that the Los Angeles City Council approved a $ 150 million cut to the LAPD as part of its $ 10.5 billion citywide budget.
SEATTLE POLICE CUTS FACE POTENTIAL FEDERAL PUSHBACK
The Associated Press reported this week that Seattle’s first black female police officer, Carmen Best, was fired Monday after Seattle City Council voted to cut her annual salary by $ 10,000 and release as many as 100 police officers. Best said her decision to act was “about the utter lack of respect for the officers.”
Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best speaks at a news conference, Tuesday, August 11, 2020, in Seattle. (AP Photo / Ted S. Warren)
The Washington Post reported last week that Minneapolis’ plans to defend the police were seized when a state commission struck down the city council to put a measure to the vote in November that would require the city charter of a certain number of police officers would have been eliminated. A majority of the city council voted in favor of replacing its police department with a new agency with a “public health-oriented approach” to public safety.
Several other cities, including Baltimore, Washington, DC, Portland, San Francisco, and others have taken steps to defuse the police following a wave of protests against police brutality and systematic racism worldwide this summer.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
