On Wednesday, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced he is throwing out plans for a massive police budget hike as support for slashing police department funds grows among activists in the wake of George Floyd's death.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti joined by community faith leaders try to talk to Black Lives Matter ... [+] 
As protests continue across the country, some activists are calling to "defund police" and redirect those funds to other areas such as education and health care, arguing police reform is not enough.
Black Lives Matter and a coalition of more than 100 other black rights organizations launched an open letter this week calling on citizens to sign a petition to demand local officials decrease funding for police departments and redirect funds to "spending on health care, education and community programs."
Some politicians are listening: the Los Angeles Police Department was set to receive a large increase in its annual budget from $1.189 billion last year to $1.86 billion (most of the budget increases were for new police bonuses) for 2020-2021 before Garcetti axed that move Wednesday, cutting $100-$150 million - only after activists rallied outside of his home.
In New York, more than 40 city council candidates are calling for a $1 billion cut to the NYPD's $6 billion budget over four years to help fund other programs such as the city's summer youth employment program.In cities such as Minneapolis, Dallas, Philadelphia, and Nashville, similar movements are gaining traction.
Still, most lawmakers have remained hesitant to the proposal: "For folks who say defund the police, I would say that is not the way forward," New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said, indicating that the department needs money for community policing and reaching out to young New Yorkers."
No, I don't believe that we should defund police departments," Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus said during a press conference Wednesday.
State and local budgets have been squeezed by the coronavirus pandemic, as tax revenue has plummeted and spending has increased. The shortfall could make decreasing police budgets more tenable, some activists argue.
Despite using the "defund police phrase," most activists don't want to reduce appropriations to police departments to zero dollars, which is impractical. Instead, supporters of the movement hope to reduce the responsibilities we ask of police and redirect funds to other social programs. "For hundreds of years, black communities have lived under state terror - be it police or vigilante violence," Patrisse Cullors, co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement, told the Hollywood Reporter. "An abolitionist believes in a world where police and prisons are no longer weaponized as a tool for public safety."
Still, there's no evidence that defunding departments will work to reduce police brutality. "We are still in the advocacy stage," David Kennedy, director of the National Network for Safe Communities at John Jay College for Criminal Justice in New York, told Axios.
According to the non-partisan Urban Institute, spending as a percentage of direct general expenditures by state and local government, police spending has remained consistently at just under 4% from 1977-2017. The national average annual salary of a police officer is $67,600, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, the salary of a police officer can vary widely depending on the state.
Garcetti called the Floyd protests "a movement to change who we are in America when it comes to black America and our criminal justice system" during a daily news briefing this week.
Tensions cool between Cuomo and NYC, police and protesters (Politico)
Amid Protests Against Police Violence LA Mayor Eric Garcetti Announces Cuts To LAPD (NPR)
Some call for fewer police, even as streets erupt (Axios)
Growing calls to "defund the police," explained (Vox)
The answer to police violence is not 'reform'. It's defunding. Here's why (The Guardian) (opinion)
Philly plans to increase police funding while cutting city services. Critics say that's a mistake. ( Philadelphia Inquirer)
I cover national politics for Forbes. Previously, I've written for TIME, Newsweek, the New York Daily News and VICE News. I also launched my own startup, Newsreel, a
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