House Speaker Nancy Pelosi dodged questions on whether she supports the anarchic proposal to defund local police Monday as calls swell to disband law enforcement in the wake of nationwide racial unrest.
“So there are all kinds of ways that we can come at this,” Pelosi said during a Capitol Hill press conference. “We want to work with our police departments. There are many who take pride in their work, and we want to be able to make sure the focus is on them.”
Pelosi explained that “there are many things we call upon our police departments to deal with,” including mental health issues and school policing.
“The public sentiment could not be clearer: we need to make some transformative change. Not incremental, transformative change,” Pelosi said.
This clip of Pelosi trying to answer a question about whether or not she supports the "defund the police" push is some straight up hostage footage.
She ends it by saying "let's not get into these questions that may come be the small minds of some, as far as safety is concerned" pic.twitter.com/1ydE8RnxLY
— Nate Madden (@NateOnTheHill) June 8, 2020
The House speaker spoke as Democrats unveiled a new criminal justice reform package that would implement a nationwide ban on chokeholds and no-knock warrants on drug cases in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis police custody. In their legislation rollout, Democratic House leaders also took a knee in the capitol building and observed a moment of silence for Floyd.
Congressional Democrats take a knee as they observe a nearly nine minute moment of silence for George Floyd at Emancipation Hall at the U.S. Capitol. https://t.co/JnqDlzMFDq pic.twitter.com/8CBdgtLUjz
— ABC News (@ABC) June 8, 2020
As protests over Floyd’s killing gripped the nation, progressives under the vanguard of “Black Lives Matter” have begun to demand governments defund police, a call rejected by presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden but supported by others.
The Minneapolis City Council announced Sunday it had a veto-proof majority to disband the city’s law enforcement which protests nearly half a million residents a day after its Democratic mayor refused to get behind the anarchic movement even while professing his white guilt.
Minneapolis City Council President Lisa Bender explained on Monday that those concerned over the lack of law enforcement should simply check their privilege.
