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Refinery29
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Refinery29
Five Years After 2020's 'Racial Reckoning,' Defunding The Police Is As Necessary As Ever
Sandy Hudson is an activist, public intellectual, creative, and the author of Defund: Black Lives Policing and Safety for All. In this op-ed, she looks back on the five years since 2020's ' racial reckoning ' and makes the case for why defunding the police is the only way to support a model of security and protection that increases public safety overall. The 2020 uprisings feel like a fever dream. May marked the five-year anniversary of George Floyd's murder, and there's no doubt that the dizzying whitelash that predictably follows groundswells for racial justice is here, replete with its manifold macroscopic abuses against Black psyches — including rumors and calls from noted conservative public figures for President Trump to consider pardoning Mr. Floyd's murderer, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. The most charitable reading of the whitelash and its champions would assume they think there were scores of new policies implemented in response to the so-called 'racial reckoning', and that those imagined policies went 'too far.' Well, that's far from the truth. In 2020, the 'Defund The Police' movement saw more mainstream coverage than ever before. And what were those policies activists were calling for? For decades, we have been calling for governments to invest in programs and services that prevent harm, address social issues that can lead to unsafe conditions, and create new emergency services for the crisis issues people may experience and for which a police response is inappropriate. For example, ensuring there are enough properly trained adults in public schools to support child development, like nurses, counselors, and librarians, rather than police; investing in housing support for people who find themselves struggling with housing, rather than policing and harassing the homeless; and implementing new mental health emergency services, through which people in crisis can receive professionally trained medical intervention. ' There is no reforming an institution that was created for the purpose of violent coercive control into a service that provides safety. sandy hudson ' There is such a large proportion of tax dollars allocated to policing as a stand-in strategy for education, housing, mental health, and other social issues, and we calling for policies that actually address these issues directly, rather than tossing them over to the police to deal with through the only tools they have access to: violence. And yes, some of these recommendations began to get public traction in 2020 – many of which are codified in the M4BL-sponsored People's Response Act, and which have the support of several lawmakers, including Congresswomen Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib. But like everything else emerging from white supremacy, there is nothing rational about the ideas behind the whitelash. Their justifications are based in fantasy. While some major cities, like New York, Los Angeles, Austin, and Minneapolis, initially committed to defunding their police departments and reinvesting in public services and programs to prevent violence, most walked back their promises. In Minneapolis, the 2024 police budget is about $50 million more than what was spent on police in 2020. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Pantheon Books (@pantheonbooks) And popular meager reforms that allocated more funding to police — like adopting the use of body cameras, providing additional training, or new oversight bodies — have failed to make a dent in police violence. In fact, more people were killed in the United States by police officers in 2024 than in any other year in the past decade. The problem is getting worse; not better. Some successful measures providing non-police options for emergency response, like the CAHOOTS crisis assistance program in Eugene, Oregon, have had to be discontinued due to a winding down of federal support. Trump issued an Executive Order to review and potentially rescind existing consent decrees issued by the Justice Department under previous administrations mandating police reform. And the license the Trump administration is giving policing agencies like ICE to terrorize migrants is indefensible — resulting in the harassment, detention and banishment of veterans, students, children, and hardworking people just trying to provide for their families. All the while, the police continue to fail at the main thing we're told we need them for: safety. ' Police are a threat to safety. Black communities know it. Migrant communities know it. Students and faculty engaging in peaceful protests on their campus know it. sandy hudson ' There is a reason why the activists and advocates who have been doing this work the longest say the only way forward is to defund the police, and put that funding into programs and services that create conditions of safety, preventing violence and harm before it starts. Besides the fact that policing has proven itself largely ineffective at addressing violence over its 250-year modern history, there is no way a service focused on response could ever address our myriad safety needs in a way that prevents violence altogether. Policing doesn't even accomplish its punitive agenda successfully–University of Utah professor of law Shima Baradaran found the conviction rates after an arrest was less than two percent per year. Her investigation found '97 percent of burglars, 88 percent of rapists, and over 50 percent of murderers get away with their crimes.' And consider gender-based violence, one of the most common expressions of violence in our society. Intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and other forms of gender-based violence are shamefully permitted to fester in our society because we continue to devote the lion's share of the responsibility to address it to police. More than 80 percent of women in the United States have experienced some form of sexual harassment, and one in five will experience a completed or attempted sexual assault — and yet, less than 22 percent of rapes are even reported to the police, in part because victims and survivors are aware of how futile a report can be. The cyclical attempts at reforming police that occur after yet another unbearable incident of police violence or corruption reaches public consciousness never seem to solve the problem because they can't. There is no reforming an institution that was created for the purpose of violent coercive control into a service that provides safety. These objectives are at cross purposes. Just think of the safest places you know. Are they surrounded by cops? Of course not. But they are well resourced. While we seemingly always have to do with less public funds for services we know create safer communities, like education, healthcare, housing, and public infrastructure, there is an unending pile of money for police. Police are a threat to safety. Black communities know it. Migrant communities know it. Students and faculty engaging in peaceful protests on their campus know it. Journalists who are attacked by police while trying to cover demonstrations know it. That's why it's crucial that we interrupt the cycle. We cannot have another 2020, followed by a series of attempts to implement ineffective reforms, followed by yet another whitelash. Activists and advocates must stay the course. Sometimes movements for justice look like the eruption we saw in 2020, but more often they are slow and steady refusals to stay silent as injustice persists. For all you who were moved in 2020, remember that the only way to prevent the systematic interruption of life caused by police is to remove the resources that enable them to harm us. The only way forward is to defund them.
Fox News
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
AOC-backed socialist mayoral candidate backtracks after calling to 'dismantle' police in 2020
Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani propelled himself to a stunning upset victory in New York City's Democratic primary, as his record on policing has become a focal point of scrutiny. Fraternal Order of Police National Vice President Joe Gamaldi told Fox News Digital that Mamdani's past rhetoric is emblematic of a dangerously radical ideology. "Anyone who still supports defunding the police is completely insane," Gamaldi said. "Especially after seeing the horrific consequences on our urban communities. It brought on rampant crime and disorder, historic murder rates in over a dozen cities and destroyed the quality of life for millions." Criticism of Mamdani's past statements on the Defund the Police movement has come from both Republicans and Democrats after his earlier comments resurfaced. In 2020, amid nationwide Black Lives Matter protests following the death of George Floyd, Mamdani publicly referred to the New York Police Department as "wicked and corrupt," calling for its defunding and dismantlement. In one Dec. 2020 viral tweet, he declared, "There is no negotiating with an institution this wicked & corrupt. Defund it. Dismantle it. End the cycle of violence." He also linked LGBTQ+ liberation to police abolition, asserting in a Nov. 2020 tweet, that "queer liberation means defund the police." Now, as Mamdani eyes the mayoralty, his public safety message appears to be shifting. He has backed away from some of his earlier rhetoric, acknowledging the importance of police in addressing violent crime. "I will not defund the police. I will work with the police because I believe the police have a critical role to play in creating public safety," he said in the second New York City Democratic mayoral debate on June 13. "Sixty-five percent of crimes from the first quarter of this year are still not solved. We need to ensure that police can focus on those crimes, and [that] we have mental health professionals and social workers to address and tackle and resolve the mental health crisis and homelessness." His current platform includes the creation of a Department of Community Safety to handle non-violent incidents that he believes would get to the root cause of crime. Mamdani's public safety plan includes reallocating $600 million from existing programs and raising taxes on wealthy New Yorkers to fund the new department. He has also spoken about reducing police overtime and cutting the NYPD's $80 million communications budget. Gamaldi said that Mamdani's comment on policing is little more than political posturing, saying that he embraces "this failed social experiment." "I find it funny, because the very people Mamdani purports to care about — lower income, disenfranchised — are the very people who were impacted the most by defunding police departments," he said. "Truth is, he is a radical ideologue more concerned with pushing his far-left agenda than the safety of New Yorkers or the brave men and women of the NYPD." With a cost-of-living-focused platform, a volunteer-powered campaign, and a savvy social media presence, Mamdani has rapidly vaulted into the frontrunner position in New York City's mayoral race. Endorsed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and buoyed by grassroots enthusiasm, the 33-year-old assemblymember has captured the imagination of a younger, more progressive electorate. If elected, Mamdani would become the city's youngest mayor in over a century, surpassing even John Purroy Mitchel, who briefly held the office in 1917 at the age of 37.
Wall Street Journal
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Wall Street Journal
Escape From Mamdani's New York? That Isn't the Jewish Way
Zohran Mamdani's victory in New York's Democratic mayoral primary has scared many people. The reasons are varied and warranted, from the eye-watering tax hikes he proposes on businesses to his old commitments to defund the police. Mr. Mamdani's defense of violent slogans such as 'globalize the intifada' doesn't help. In recent days many Jews have asked themselves: Where to now? My sister sent me house listings in Maryland, and a friend made the case for Florida. 'We won in Tehran and lost in New York,' I heard someone say.
Daily Mail
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Reeves and Starmer are defunding the police. Even loyal Labour ministers are telling DAN HODGES that the Chancellor's spending decisions are 'bonkers' and Britain's thin blue line will be stretched to breaking point...
A couple of months after he was elected Labour leader, and with the Black Lives Matter movement sweeping the globe, was asked what he thought about the radical Left's latest rallying cry – 'Defund the police!' It was, Starmer replied, 'nonsense'. 'Nobody should be saying anything about defunding the police, and I would have no truck with that,' he insisted.
Black America Web
26-05-2025
- Black America Web
George Floyd Remembered On 5th Anniversary Of His Death
George Floyd, a resident of Minneapolis, Minn., lost his life at the hands of Derek Chauvin, the police officer who knelt on Floyd's neck for nine minutes. On the fifth anniversary of his death, many on social media are honoring George Floyd's life. On this day (May 25) five years ago, George Floyd was arrested after a store clerk at Cup Food alerted the police that Floyd used a counterfeit $20 bill inside the establishment. Officers J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane arrived on the scene shortly after 8:00 PM local time. The officers approached Floyd's SUV and ordered him to show his hands before pulling him out of the vehicle. Chauvin and Officer Tou Thao arrived next, making it a total of four officers on Floyd. The officers pulled Floyd out of the backseat of a squad car with Kueng, Lane, and Chauvin physically holding down Floyd. Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck, who repeatedly said he couldn't breathe, and was suffering from an anxiety attack, according to onlookers. The officers ignored Floyd's complaints about his discomfort, with Thao, who kept bystanders at bay, reportedly telling folks, 'This is why you don't do drugs, kids.' The observers noticed that Floyd was no longer moving, and officers discovered that he no longer had a pulse. Witnesses say that the officers did nothing to attempt to revive Floyd as he was lying face down on the pavement. The death of George Floyd sparked citywide demonstrations and protests around the nation, calling for the arrest of the four officers. Floyd's murder bolstered the 'Defund The Police' movement, and tensions between police officers and Black and other minority groups grew as a result. Chauvin was later charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter, and was sentenced to 22 and a half years. Chauvin pleaded guilty to federal charges of violating Floyd's civil rights for ignoring his pleas for help, not administering medical care, and for using extreme measures to subdue him. The other three officers faced similar charges. Lane pleaded guilty to state level charges of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter and sewas ntenced to three years to be served alongside a 2 and a half year federal sentence. Kueng pleaded guilty to the same charge and was sentenced to 3 and a half years in state prison to be served with his 2 and a half year federal sentence. Thao waived his right to a trial but was later found guilty of aiding and abetting manslaughter and sentenced to almost five years in prison. Naturally, right-wing trolls and MAGA enthusiasts are pushing the theory that Floyd overdosed on drugs instead of focusing on the charges that the officers actually pleaded guilty to. If these tough-guy officers believed they didn't commit a crime, protests and folks calling for their heads wouldn't have made them fold. It didn't stop them from killing a Black man in broad daylight, right? On X, George Floyd's name is one of the top trending topics. We've got those reactions listed below. — Photo: The Washington Post / Getty George Floyd Remembered On 5th Anniversary Of His Death was originally published on Black America Web Featured Video CLOSE
