Protesters gathered in front of what they claimed was a Washington, D.C. councilman’s home Thursday night to call for more substantial police reforms and budget cuts.
“Allen, wake the f**k up,” someone in the crowd of about 40 or 50 protesters yelled through a megaphone in front of a residence identified by protesters as the home of D.C. City Council Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Allen, according to a Daily Caller reporter on the scene.
The judiciary committee voted Thursday to reduce the Metropolitan Police Department’s (MPD) proposed 2021 budget by $15 million. Even with the cut, the proposed budget, reportedly introduced by Democratic Washignton, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser in mid-May, would still increase the MPD’s funding by $9 million overall.
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In the video a woman can be heard talking about the injustices of incarceration over marijuana, the private prison system, the failure of the 13th Amendment, medical research for indigenous women, PPE and more.
“When we say abolish the police, we mean abolish the police. Not 2%. We mean abolish the police,” she said, apparently taking issue with the size of the budget reduction.
“When we say abolish the police, we’re talking about take the system away that’s trying to hurt us and actually protect and serve the communities,” she said as she spoke about the over policing in D.C. and the resources the community lacks. “We’re off the fields now, but we’re in the cells.”
She went on to say that Americans appear more concerned with tear gassing protesters than ending the coronavirus, and that they are quicker to utilize the police and the national guard than implementing measures to end the coronavirus. “We have to fight two pandemics. We have to fight racism and the coronavirus.” (RELATED: Here’s What Law Enforcement Is Saying About DC Protests)