The measure, which was passed on Wednesday, orders all members of the Portland Police Department to stop giving or receiving „operational support“ from officers representing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Marshal Service, Federal Protective Service and Customs and Border Protection, according to local news reports. Under the resolution, police are also banned from overseeing demonstrations alongside federal officers.
Archiv: city councils / town councils / town boards / boards of aldermen
Minneapolis Council Moves To Defund Police, Establish ‚Holistic‘ Public Safety Force
Despite unanimous support Friday, the amendment faces a number of bureaucratic obstacles before voters can vote on it in November.
Council passes bill compelling NYPD to share surveillance strategies
The City Council has passed legislation forcing the NYPD to explain how it uses facial recognition and other surveillance technologies to track New Yorkers.
The Public Oversight of Surveillance Technology Act was first introduced in March 2017 and had picked up 38 council sponsors ahead of today’s vote. If signed by Mayor Bill de Blasio, the measure would require the NYPD to report and evaluate its surveillance technologies and would compel the department to create a “surveillance impact and use policy.”
New York City oversight bill to force police to detail surveillance tools
The Public Oversight of Surveillance Technology (POST) Act already has enough co-sponsors to win the two-thirds support needed to override veto from the mayor, who has opposed the bill.
„What’s happening is this incredible movement… [it’s] incredibly inspiring to the vast majority of American people. But it is also threatening to the right-wing and the reactionary agenda of Donald Trump.“ -Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant on Trump threatening protests
The movement, led by a multi-racial community of youth, won a major victory, forcing Seattle police & the big business-backed establishment to leave East Precinct. The movement was undaunted in the face of horrific violence from Mayor Durkan’s police. Congratulations, solidarity!
Louisville city council unanimously pass ‚Breonna’s Law‘ to ban no-knock warrants
The unanimously passed ordinance, which still needs to be approved by the mayor, bans any search warrant that does not require police to announce themselves and their purpose at the premises. It requires any Louisville Metro Police Department or Metro law enforcement to knock and wait a minimum of 15 seconds for a response.
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer vowed to pass the ban as “soon as it hits my desk.”
BRUTAL MATH: The NYPD’s $6B Budget Must Be Cut, Advocates and Lawmakers Say
(04.06.2020)
As the city budget process begins, Streetsblog has been asking Council members to put an actual figure on their vague demands for cuts as part of the #defundTheNYPD movement, but none has provided a target number, citing ongoing budget negotiations.
Most of Minneapolis City Council pledges to ‚begin the process of ending‘ police department
“We recognize that we don’t have all the answers about what a police-free future looks like, but our community does,” they said, reading off a prepared statement. “We’re committed to engaging with every willing community member in the City of Minneapolis over the next year to identify what safety looks like for you.”
Their words — delivered one day after Mayor Jacob Frey told a crowd of protesters he does not support the full abolishment of the MPD — set off what is likely to be a long, complicated debate about the future of the state’s largest police force.
NEW: Austin city council will vote on at least six @Austin_Police policy changes next Thursday including banning tear gas and ‚impact munitions‘ against demonstrators, banning chokeholds & reducing the dept’s military-grade equip:
Cities Ask if It’s Time to Defund Police and ‘Reimagine’ Public Safety
In the wake of George Floyd’s killing, some cities are asking if the police are being asked to do jobs they were never intended to do. Budgets are being re-evaluated.
Hundreds of Activists and Elected Officials Call on Mayors and Cops to Decrease Police Power
Non-reformist reforms seek abolition as an end goal, and include defunding and demilitarizing the police — a demand that has long been considered politically impossible but has entered mainstream discourse over the last week and is reflected in the letters sent Friday.
The letter to police chiefs asks them to help curb the power of police unions. “Making sure that unions aren’t as powerful so that you can keep bad apples on the force, and prevent robust oversight and disciplinary action,” Medwed said.
Fire Police Chief Moore
Step one by removing police officers who may carry the same “gang member mentality”
„Eric, do you really believe that Los Angeles police officers are killers?“ LAPPL board member Jamie McBride said. „The same officers that provide you 24-hour security at your residence 365 days a year?“
During a contentious meeting between LAPD officers and @MRodCD7 , one officer says that if the city is going to cut, it should start by cutting protection details at council members‘ homes (see minute 15:30 or so)
What L.A. could do with its $1.8 billion police budget
The LAPD will receive a $120 million increase in funding under Garcetti’s budget, which was adopted by default Monday after the City Council declined to review it by the June 1 deadline. More city money will be dedicated to policing than any other service this budget year. If you added up the budgets for housing, streets, and transportation, then tripled the sum, it still would not match the city’s LAPD budget.
LA city council president introduces motion to cut LAPD funding
„Today we intrdcd a motion to cut funding to the LAPD, as we reset our priorities in the wake of the murder of #GeorgeFloyd & the #BlackLivesMatter call that we all support to end racism. This is just one small step. We cannot talk about change, we have to be about change,“ Martinez tweeted.
Okay, here we go: Of the 59 Assembly Democrats running again in NYC, 25 (42%) have taken law enforcement (police, correction, or court officer) money this cycle.
NOTE: DenDekker, Simotas, and Lentol are all in the top 10. All face challengers in increasingly-leftist districts.
A 19-year-old called out New York Democrats accepting police campaign donations. To his surprise, many have listened
„I’ve been looking at state finance disclosures for candidates in New York and I was noticing a lot of police money, law enforcement money taken by Democrats claiming to be against it,“ he said. „I was making this spreadsheet. Then (the death of) George Floyd happened — so many people responded and it got, like, a hundred likes in a couple hours? So people wanted to see this.“
Since sharing his „Who’s Taking Cop Money?“ Google spreadsheet on Twitter on May 29, eight Democrats — including a state senator, state assembly members and New York councilmembers — have vowed to donate their police-funded contributions to bail funds or criminal justice reform organizations.