Seattle City Council’s Plan to Gut Police Department By 50 Percent Has Collapsed
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2020/08/07/seattle-city-councils-plan-to-gut-police-department-by-50-percent-has-collapsed-n2573917So, there’s some good news coming out of Seattle, but let’s also stress that “good” is for lack of a better term here. The plan to gut the Seattle Police Department by 50 percent has collapsed. The overall plan to abolish its police department, which is the goal for the far left, appears to be put on hold for now. Some council members cited the labor laws, noting that if they lost a dispute, they would have to rehire the officers they purged plus back pay. They are moving forward with cutting 100 officers, getting rid of its mounted units, and the navigation squads, who deal with the homeless (via Seattle Times):
Proposals to reduce the Seattle Police Department by up to 100 officers through layoffs and attrition won unanimous City Council support Wednesday, while proposals to reduce police-command pay and stop removing homeless encampments also cleared hurdles.
Final votes on the moves are still to come next week, and the council rejected a push to “defund” the Police Department’s remaining 2020 budget by 50% and reinvest that money, as many Black Lives Matter protesters have urged.
The amendments passed in a committee Wednesday are expected to save only about $3 million this year (the Police Department’s annual budget tops $400 million), partly due to the assumption the layoffs wouldn’t be carried out until November. In order to provide community organizations with $17 million to start scaling up nonpolice solutions right away, council members intend mostly to borrow money, rather than redirect police funds
Still, council members said they were sending a message as they voted 9-0 on the midyear budget amendments that Mayor Jenny Durkan and police Chief Carmen Best have vehemently opposed.
“We’re not going to be bullied into doing nothing,” Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda said. “It’s important to show community members that we hear them, that we’re working towards the same goal and not just saying no.
Seattle has not quite abolished the police force. It is cutting funding.
