‘It is unacceptable.’ Fresno residents call council to defund the police department
Following the introduction of Fresno’s next proposed budget, the City Council heard citizens’ requests to cut the budget – if not entirely defund – the Police Department.
The department’s budget was not actually part of the agenda on Tuesday, but it took the focus of the meeting. The police department budget is set to be presented to the council on Monday.
The police department’s $201 million budget comes out of the city’s $1.18 billion spending plan. Police spending makes up about half of the general fund.
Fresno resident Alexandria Ramos-O’Casey said the police department has become militarized and too often kills people of color. She said the budget is bloated.
“It is unacceptable and shows we have no reason to trust our City Councilmembers,” she said.
Fresno native Michael Kreins said cutting from the police department’s budget could help fund other programs in the city, noting the city also has paid out large sums to people who have sued police.
“Continuing the status quo has not helped our black and brown communities in the past, so why do we expect the status quo to help our black and brown communities now?” he said.
City administrators are considering how they could pad the department’s budget with potentially as much as $30 million from COVID-19 funding that came down from the federal government.
Ivanka Saunders, who works with the Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability, said she was speaking as a citizen when she questioned adding more money to the police department.
“Today, I’m just fed up. We should be doing better as a city,” she said. “This is not a little Mississippi. We do live in California. We shouldn’t be as backwards in our thinking as we are.”
“That answer is in not increasing the police department’s funds,” she said.
Continuing resolution
Fresno Mayor Lee Brand has proposed rolling this year’s budget into the 2020-21 fiscal year until officials have a better idea on the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
Called a “continuing resolution” budget, the proposal would continue spending status quo into the first quarter of next year. It’s the city’s first resolution of that kind in 23 years under the strong mayor system.
Defunding the Police Department also got the support of D’Aungillique Jackson, president of the Fresno State National Association for the Advancement of Colored People who organized a May 31 protest near City Hall.
Some callers during the Zoom meeting asked for cuts and still others said police officers aren’t needed for most calls for service.
The calls for defunding police departments around the country have risen in the past week following the killing of George Floyd by four Minneapolis police officers, which sparked protests in Fresno and many cities. City leaders in Minneapolis, New York and Los Angeles, among others, have called for changes.
In graphic videos posted to social media, an officer kneels on Floyd’s neck and three other officers do not intervene as the man is heard telling the officers, “I cannot breathe.” All four officers have been charged with crimes.
Economic shortfall
The Fresno City Council is also weighing a $40 million shortfall because of the response to the coronavirus, and looking at ways to save money. Furloughs, layoffs and other cuts are on the table, according to the budget introduction.
Councilmember Esmeralda Soria said Tuesday, along with addressing the concerns of citizens, the council should look at removing police from positions like those on the homelessness task force.
“I think we need to re-think how we service our community,” she said. “We’re criminalizing homelessness and poverty.”
The council is scheduled to vote on the budget as a whole on June 25.
