Protesters gathered Sunday near New York City’s City Hall and demanded a $1 billion cut to the New York Police Department’s budget. The decision about the department’s budget will be made Tuesday.
The area in front of New York’s City Hall has now been occupied by protesters.
A large poster featuring a letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio about the protesters’ concerns with the NYPD budget, their demand that $1 billion be cut from the budget, and where to to reinvest the money such as summer youth employment, college access, and community land trusts, is seen in video captured by Daily Caller reporter Jorge Ventura.
Ventura spoke to a member of the protests about a recent uptick in shootings in New York City and if reallocating funds to social and mental services could help prevent that type of violence.
“First of all, being out here I’ve experienced undercover cops,” the unnamed protester said. He “[believes] that if you research those different shootings, I guarantee you it’s coming from the law enforcement,” who “[want] to push the narrative that we need cops.”
The unnamed protester added, “things are gonna get much uglier than what it is, it’s gonna get much uglier cause you know why? We’re in a war against racism. We’re in a war against racism and that means a lot more blood is gonna be shed.”
“It is definitely a revolution-liberation movement,” he said in reference to the current civil unrest throughout the country, “that is different in the sense of, you know, it’s about black lives mattering, you know so that we can all matter. We don’t all matter until black lives matter.”
He also discussed “the systemic racism that is in the DNA of America so this movement is about bringing it all down so that we can build anew.” (RELATED: ‘Who Are You Talking To?’: Protester Defending Roosevelt Statue Clashes With Counter-Protester)
WATCH:
