MA state government approves police reform
Posted by Annie May / December 3, 2020
But the news has not all been good on the police reform front. Earlier this year, the Seattle City Council vetoed the mayor’s attempt to defund the police––the news of this ironically broke the same day that one of the police officers involved in Breonna Taylor’s murder was indicted on criminal charges.
Seattle announced plans to defund the police in mid-July. City leaders have supported a plan to defund the police by 50%. Seattle’s largest labor coalition has booted the Seattle police union from its ranks, citing the force’s unwillingness to confront internal racism.
After more than a month of protests, cities around the nation are starting to make changes to their police forces. New York City mayor Bill de Blasio just announced that he would cut a billion dollars from the police budget.
There’s growing backlash over the brutal treatment protestors are experiencing at the hands of the police. The LAPD is being sued for shooting a homeless, wheelchair-bound man in the face with rubber bullets (warning: the image is quite shocking). Denver Police, meanwhile, are coming under fire for shooting pepper balls (whatever that is) at a car (driven by a black man), despite his yelled warnings that his wife, inside the car, was pregnant.
The 75-year-old Buffalo man knocked down by police has a fractured skull and cannot walk. Police knocked him to the ground during a Black Lives Matter protest, leading to a head injury.
Police, unprovoked, savagely beat unarmed protestors in Philadelphia. Both Swiss and Australian journalists have been attacked by police, and the police union refuses to identify the cops in the Australian case.
Critics of police brutality are increasingly placing the blame with police unions, who go through tremendous lengths to protect any and all police officers, no matter the circumstances. While unions are often good for protecting the workforce from exploitation, they’re not as beneficial when the protect murderers.
More news.
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