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The mayor of Portland, Ore. On Friday called for nearly $ 2 million in additional funding for the city’s police and other agencies, citing an increase in homicides and other violent crimes.
But city council members were either moms or not fully determined so far on whether they would support the plan, according to reports.
Second-term Mayor Ted Wheeler’s request came on Friday during his state of the city address – and three days after Wheeler condemned one of the last murders in the city, the daylight murder of a 42 year old man in a city. park on Tuesday.
“This shooting was brazen and horrific,” Wheeler wrote on Twitter. “The City and its partners are working hard to prevent and reduce gun violence. It is a public health crisis that is hurting our entire community.”
Wheeler’s request for funding marked a turnaround for Portland, which has been seen as the epicenter of the ‘Defund the Police’ movement – in which liberal groups have sought to divert public money from traditional policing and out of pocket. efforts such as mental health treatment and community development.
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It also came as the mayor came under criticism during months of violent protests in the city, including a clash Thursday night outside a federal courthouse. Wheeler has frequently been the target of criticism from former President Donald Trump and others, although the mayor managed to win re-election in November.
Last June, city leaders voted to cut the police budget by $ 16 million, a move that included the elimination of a gun violence reduction unit, according to the Associated Press.
But Portland has seen an upsurge in gun violence in recent months. Since the start of 2021, the city has experienced 20 homicides, mostly by gunshot. Around the same time in March last year, the city had only experienced one homicide, the AP reported.
Most of Wheeler’s $ 2 million claim would go towards hiring five more detectives and training a uniformed patrol team focused on gun violence, KATU-TV of Portland reported.
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On Thursday, Wheeler presented his proposal ahead of Friday’s speech, at a press conference with Police Chief Chuck Lovell and other city officials. Wheeler said the proposed patrol team would operate differently from the gun violence reduction team that was disbanded last year.
“Which is going to be different this time around, and Chief Lovell has made it very clear, they believe we need a prevention and response function, but he also made it clear that he would not support it to unless the community supports it, unless there is a community. monitoring, and unless there is transparent collection and dissemination of data, ”Wheeler said, according to KATU.
Restoring the Portland Police Office’s ability to tackle gun violence is at the center of a new funding proposal from Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, right.
But other city officials weren’t wondering if they would support Wheeler’s plan.
Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty’s office told KATU that it is reviewing the proposal, but looks forward to “learning more, hearing other proposals from the community, and deliberating on any financial requests. correspondent during the budget process “.
Commissioner Mingus Mapps expressed partial support for the mayor’s plan.
“There are parts of this proposal that I fully support,” Mapps said in a statement to KATU. He mentioned the plans of the Violence Prevention Bureau, increased investigative capacity within the city police and increased community surveillance, according to the KATU report.
A group of community leaders have already expressed support for the city’s police support, writing to city council on Thursday, the Western Journal reported.
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“There is just too much blood on the streets,” Pastor Ed Williams of the Inter-Faith Peace & Action Collaborative told the newspaper. “We must be determined, we must have had enough of [the violence] and want to do something about it. I see this issue before us as an opportunity to come together. “
“There is too much blood in the streets.”
Efforts to “defeat the police” swept across the United States last year, in part because of allegations of excessive force by police officers, particularly against blacks and other minorities. The issue grew after George Floyd died in Minneapolis custody last May and Breonna Taylor in a police raid on her home in Louisville, Kentucky, exactly one year ago. Saturday.
Over the past year, Portland has witnessed violent protests almost every day and night.
He has also seen many gunshot deaths, including that of Patriot Prayer supporter Aaron “Jay” Danielson last August. This shooting was linked to suspect Michael Forest Reinoehl, an Antifa supporter who was killed by law enforcement officers several days later.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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