LA City Councilmember Herb Wesson on Tuesday announced he, and City Council President Nury Martinez, introduced a motion "to replace LAPD officers with unarmed, non-law enforcement agencies who will be responsible for responding to non-violent calls for service."
"My colleague @C6Nury & I are calling for a systematic crisis-response plan to replace police presence in non-criminal situations with unarmed service providers including medical professionals, mental health workers, homeless outreach workers and others with specialized training," Wesson said in a series of tweets Tuesday.
The motion was introduced by Wesson and City Council President Martinez and later approved.
Public safety is bigger than a police department. Today, we approved our motion to continue to invest more money into disenfranchised communities and introduced a motion to reimagine what public safety looks like now. pic.twitter.com/U3PvW91N17
— Nury Martinez (@CD6Nury)
June 16, 2020 "We’ve given this responsibility to law enforcement but, more often than not, in non-emergencies they may not be best equipped to safely handle the situation. These calls need to be directed to workers with specialized training who are better equipped to handle the situation. Today I, alongside my colleagues, will introduce a motion to replace LAPD officers with unarmed, non-law enforcement agencies who will be responsible for responding to non-violent calls for service," Wesson said in a series of tweets.
There have been calls to defund the police across the country and in recent days after massive protests around Los Angeles and Southern California in response to the death of George Floyd.
"For me, as a black guy, you know this is the greatest opportunity that I’ve ever had in my life to effect change so that maybe my grandchildren won't have to grow up and deal with some of the crap that I've had to deal with,” Wesson told KNX reporter Claudia Peschiutta.
Additionally, the Los Angeles City Council has taken another step toward potentially cutting millions from the LAPD’s budget, voting 11-3 to direct staff to identify $100 to $150 million in possible cuts from the department.
Just today, President Trump signed an executive order on police reform in the wake of protests over the death of George Floyd.
Earlier this
month, after countless
protests over the death of Floyd and condemning racial injustice and police brutality across Los Angeles, Mayor Garcetti announced he would try to find $150 million in cuts from the LAPD budget and divert those funds to help the black LA community in terms of education, jobs, and social services.
"For me, as a black guy, you know this is the greatest opportunity that I’ve ever had in my life to effect change so that maybe my grandchildren won't have to grow up and deal with some of the crap that I've had to deal with,” says @HerbJWesson. @KNX1070 https://t.co/sB7yB5v4Tx
— Claudia Peschiutta (@ReporterClaudia)
June 16, 2020 My colleague @C6Nury & I are calling for a systematic crisis-response plan to replace police presence in non-criminal situations with unarmed service providers including medical professionals, mental health workers, homeless outreach workers and others with specialized training.
— Herb J. Wesson, Jr. (@HerbJWesson)
June 16, 2020 We’ve given this responsibility to law enforcement but, more often than not, in non-emergencies they may not be best equipped to safely handle the situation. These calls need to be directed to workers with specialized training who are better equipped to handle the situation.
— Herb J. Wesson, Jr. (@HerbJWesson)
June 16, 2020 Today I, alongside my colleagues, will introduce a motion to replace LAPD officers with unarmed, non-law enforcement agencies who will be responsible for responding to non-violent calls for service.
— Herb J. Wesson, Jr. (@HerbJWesson)
June 16, 2020 The Los Angeles City Council has taken another step toward potentially cutting Millions from the LAPD’s budget. The council voted 11-3 to direct staff to identify $100-$150M in possible cuts from the dept. @KNX1070
— Margaret Carrero (@KNXmargaret)
June 16, 2020 Recently, the LAPD was forced to cut overtime pay to officers after spending $40 million on protests and coronavirus.
