San Diegans to City Council: Defund Police

The San Diego City Council heard public comments Monday — both written and telephoned in — from hundreds of residents urging the council to reject a proposed $27 million dollar increase in the budget for the San Diego Police Department. The comments lasted hours and were still coming in as we edited today’s show. So many people called in, in fact, that the city’s phone system crashed. For several hours, the number of callers waiting to speakexceeded the phone line's capacity… many had to wait before they were even allowed into the queue to wait once again to speak to the city council. At 1 p.m., the city's phone system crashed... and the council took a break to get it running again. The majority of callers asked for the police to be defunded, with funds going toward marginalized and vulnerable communities instead. *** Imperial Beach officials are speaking out against a violent assault during a black lives matter protest on Sunday. Marcus Boyd, a long time resident of Imperial Beach, was punched from behind while he was videotaping a group of individuals who were harassing protesters. “They made it a point to be disruptive and then they came back with eggs and started throwing eggs.” Boyd says he was not seriously injured. Imperial Beach mayor pro tem Paloma Aguirre says city officials are outraged by the incident. “I told him that we stand with him in solidarity with the entire black community of Imperial Beach and regionally. Sheriff’s Deputies say they interviewed a suspect but they could not get a positive ID. They say the investigation continues. Imperial Beach officials say the incident should be investigated as a hate crime. *** A group of attorneys and staff from Federal Defenders of San Diego, Inc., led a march downtown Monday afternoon to protest police brutality and systemic racism. The march started outside the Federal Defenders' office on Broadway downtown and ended in the courtyard of the federal courthouse, directly across the street from the Hall of Justice. *** From KPBS, I’m Kinsee Morlan and you’re listening to San Diego News Matters, a podcast powered by our reporters, producers and editors. It’s Tuesday, June 9. Stay with me for more of the local news you need. The coronavirus pandemic magnifies existing social issues. KPBS science and technology reporter Shalina Chatlani says controlling the pandemic in at-risk communities, like the homeless, presents a unique set of challenges. KPBS science and technology reporter Shalina Chatlani. *** During the coronavirus pandemic, refugees from Iraq and Syria living in El Cajon have had a tough time escaping domestic violence. inewsource reporter Roxana Popescu (POP-uh-skew) spoke with eight women to find out why. That story from inewsource, an independent nonprofit partner of kpbs. *** As San Diego slowly reopens during the coronavirus pandemic, facial coverings remain mandatory for entering stores and restaurants. But that doesn't mean you can't look stylish. KPBS reporter Max Rivlin-Nadler went to a mask giveaway and market in City Heights this weekend, showing off the best of local and international mask fashion. When coronavirus hit, many immigrant fashion designers in city heights had to close their stores. In an attempt to stay in business, many of them quickly transitioned to making masks. On Saturday, those designers helped give back to the community. Volunteers handed out fashionable masks to drivers and passerby on El Cajon Blvd From stands set up at 44th and El Cajon Boulevard, the vendors were also able to sell their masks. Anisa (A-neesa) Mohamed and her father Ali Awow (a-wow), moved to San Diego three years ago from Kenya. They're part of the International Rescue Committee's Small Business Development Center and run a tailor shop in the MInnehaha food market. Anisa says Ali transitioned quickly into the mask market. IMG_1017 1:11 ANISA MOHAMED It wasn't hard for him to make the mask at all. He knew what patterns he should use. He also taught me. We had a lot of orders to make the entire family was helping. The plan is to make this a monthly event. After the killing of George Floyd, there have been calls to abolish and, quote, "defund" police departments. Over the weekend, the Minneapolis City Council voted to dismantle its police force, and House Democrats in Washington are taking up police reform this week. Defunding police is a new concept that is differently understood and also misunderstood. To Christy Lopez, of Georgetown Law School, it means making fundamental changes to a police officers job, and reimagining how we achieve public safety. Lopez is the author of an op-ed column that appeared Monday in the Washington Post. She spoke with Midday Edition host Mark Sauer about how and why the job of a police officer has become so difficult. We can't keep stretching, policing this thin and keep putting them in a situation where they have to respond to crisis after crisis and expect them to respond equally well to, uh, this variety of, uh, types of circumstances that no one profession in any other context is required to respond to. Please cannot be social workers and mental health workers and responders to active bystanders of and school counselors. These are all things that we should be funding separately for those people who have that training to do. And even police have been saying that for some time, have they? Not that we're expected to do too much in this society. Yes, please. Um, have long been saying that they're expected to, to do too much. They're expected to deal with the problems created by a lack of housing, by a lack of adequate education, by a lack of adequate medical care and drug addiction treatment. All of these things create problems, um, that are allowed to rise to crisis level at which point the police have to come in. And what are some of the jobs police officers do now that you believe might be handled by somebody else? And who would that person be? Well, some things that please do, um, should just be ratcheted down. So for example, please make 10 million arrests every year. There's a lot of research indicating that many of those arrests could be citations. Um, and we would, there'd be no hit the public safety and there'd be a tremendous savings in terms of incarcerating people. And of course, with all the consequences of incarceration, even short term, losing your job, et cetera. Um, so that's part of it. Others, of course, you know, um, mental health is one of the most obvious examples of where if we were to shift some funds to mental health, we might prevent people from falling into mental health crisis. Those crises are often some of the most dangerous calls that police respond to. And by failing by, um, helping people not fall into mental health crisis, we can help them live happier, more fulfilled lives. Right. Anyway. So there that's just there any number of, of shifts that we can make. Um, so that we can, if we start thinking more expansively about how to achieve public safety, we realize that we've over relied on law enforcement to achieve public safety. I can imagine this will be politicized as so many things, of course are in our society. The whole phrase, defund the police. Uh, it seems to me to be a. Uh, somewhat fraught. Uh, what about the argument that police have a very difficult, dangerous job. They have to assume nearly everyone they encounter could well have a gun. Well, I think there's a lot of truth to that. Um, and I think that speaks to, uh, one of the reasons we're in this situation and one of the reasons, um, one of the ways in which we need to think more expansively about public safety. And again, um, you do wander right in the thicket of politicized issues. Um, I do think that. You know, it, it makes police officers' jobs more difficult that we live in a country that has done so little to regulate gun ownership in this country. Um, and, and that's one of the things we probably need to look at instead of putting police in a situation where yeah. Um, they're go, they're going into situations where people have a lot of guns and a lot of ammunition that makes their jobs more difficult. And you said the abolition language is important. Why do you feel that way? I think abolition, um, is important for a couple of reasons. Police abolition the way that, um, most police abolitionists use it. My understanding, um, from what I read and when I've talked to people, is that what that refers to. Is abolishing policing. As we know it and abolishing our reliance on policing so that we don't rely on mass incarceration and 10 million arrests every year and the criminalization of poverty and addiction. But the other piece of. Police abolition. That's really important to be mindful of is that we do have this thread in our history of using state power to control the bodies and the lives of black people. That's a history that goes back to slavery. It extended through Jim Crow and we've allowed policing. To some extent in some places to do perpetuate that, uh, inappropriate control by the state over, over the lives and bodies of black people. And that part of policing must be literally abolished. And that was Midday Edition host Mark Sauer speaking with Christy Lopez, a professor at Georgetown law school and co-director of the school's policing program. *** We want to capture more of the voices of the people like you who are on the ground protesting police brutality and racism. If you’ve been out there, or if you’re participating in virtual events, take a minute to call 619-452-0228 and leave a voicemail saying who you are, what neighborhood you live in and why you’re out protesting and fighting against injustice. Thanks. And thanks for listening.