(10 Jun 2020) FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: apus137868
Protestors are pushing to "defund the police" over the death of George Floyd and other black Americans killed by law enforcement. Their chant has become a rallying cry - and a stick for President Donald Trump to use on Democrats as he portrays them as soft on crime.
But what does "defund the police" mean? It's not necessarily about gutting police department budgets.
"I don't think it literally means defund as in no police. I think what we're talking about is rethinking policing," North Carolina State Representative Kelly Alexander told the Associated Press.
Supporters say it isn't about eliminating police departments or stripping agencies of all their money. They say it is time for the country to address systematic problems in policing in America and spend more on what communities across the U.S. need, like housing and education.
"What I think is one of the things that's really being asked for is not policing to go away or policing to disappear but for policing to be equitable," Alexander said.
Conversations and some action have already began in some cities. Monday night, the Charlotte City Council voted to eliminate their police department's budget for tear gas and chemical agents for fiscal year 2021.
Alexander says that's a start.
"Black and white people have experienced policing entirely different. And that now is clear to everybody and that is something that everyone is demanding be changed."
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