Enclosed by the protests and rallies from both parties, #BlackLivesMatter and #AllLivesMatter, Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti slashes $100-150m from Los Angeles Police Department and devotes the amount to serve for the welfare of people of colored communities.
The mayor made this announcement in his Wednesday evening press conference as he called this action to be of urgent nature which will turn the situation towards peace and prosperity. He further showed his intention towards ending the racism in the city as he said it is time to take measurements to terminate it forever.
Thousands of people swarmed to streets in downtown of the city and Hollywood where the mayor took a vow while taking a knee alongside diverse faith leaders. The same day, following the event, hundreds of people took it to his home to protest in solidarity with Black people.
During the press conference, Garcetti said he will make sure that the LA Police Department follows the guidelines they are briefed about for the safety of Black people. However, they will also report any kind of malfeasance or illegitimate use of force by the public.
According to him, a budget of $1.8m is quite enough for the department as the city will not increase it for cops. Talking to a news reporter, the mayor also declared that the money will be distributed right away.
Nevertheless, the co-founder of #BlackLivesMatter Melina Abdullah is not happy with this proclamation as she believes this is the least the movement expects from the city. According to her, they have gathered to bring systematic changes in how the Black people are dealt with in their everyday life.
Meanwhile, Nury Martinez, the president of City Council of LA, has also tweeted to introduce his motion with regards to slashing up the LAPD budget. He believes in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, this is only a small endeavor and we should bring about the change not only talk about it.