Calls to defund police sparks use of public safety money debate at city hall
The calls to defund police aren't just a chant at a Cincinnati protest or a message on a billboard along I-75, it has now spurred a discussion about how to use public safety funds at city hall.
The difference between disbanding is that defunding means taking some of the money from the police department and sending it to other programs.
Right now, there's a motion on the table to do that with Cincinnati police.
“The question that I think that we’re all going to have to wrestle with is, what does public safety look like now, and what does it need to look like?” said Cincinnati city councilman Greg Landsman.
Landsman wants $200,000 to be pulled from the Cincinnati police budget to fund the Citizen’s Complaint Authority. The CCA is an independent organization that looks into complaints against police officers.
“I believe the changes that are absolutely public safety related, which these are, should come from the public safety budget, should come from the police budget,” Landsman said.
Mayor John Cranley said he supports funding the CCA but from the general fund, not from the police budget.
“I think defunding police is a terrible idea and one that I think would have effects on the citizens themselves,” said Cincinnati Fraternal Order of Police president Dan Hils.
Hils said less money for police leaves fewer officers to respond to incidents like the multiple fatal shootings over the past few days.
“Our police department is way ahead of the game, a leader in police community relations all across the country,” Hils said.
Cincinnati Police have been recognized as being a leader in police reforms.
Landsman plans to present the motion to the Law and Public Safety committee on Tuesday. It could go in front of the full council as soon as Wednesday.
“Part of this is shifting the mindset away from, ‘We’re the best,’ or ‘We’re one of the best in the country,’ to ‘We are going to be the best at getting better,” Landsman said.