{"id":11324,"date":"2020-06-09T12:30:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-09T16:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/framinghamsource.com\/?p=11324"},"modified":"2020-06-09T14:53:58","modified_gmt":"2020-06-09T18:53:58","slug":"should-mayor-spicer-defund-framingham-police","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/framinghamsource.com\/index.php\/2020\/06\/09\/should-mayor-spicer-defund-framingham-police\/","title":{"rendered":"Should Mayor Spicer Defund Framingham Police?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

[broadstreet zone=”51611″]<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

FRAMINGHAM – After the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, while handcuffed and with a now-fired police officer’s knee in his neck for about 9 minutes, the Minneapolis City Council wants to defund the police department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now debates are happening all over cities across America on if police departments need to be defunded or reorganized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said he does not support abolishing the city\u2019s police force, despite a veto-proof majority of members of the city council pledging that they want to take that drastic step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

City Council Chair Lisa Bender in a TV interview said “We’ve looked at every reason that folks call 9-1-1. Why are people in Minneapolis calling for help? And we’re starting to pair what’s the right response to those calls. In the short term that helps our police officers focus on the work that they’re trained to do, while we have a better response to people who have a mental health crisis or a physical health crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Calls for defunding the police don’t mean no money for police departments. Some want to only partial defund the police.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But in Minneapolis, the Council is looking to cut $200 million from its $1.3 billion overall annual budget, said Bender. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Framingham, the police department’s budget is almost $17 million of a $289 million city budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were several signs calling for budget reform by the 800-plus protesters on Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n