4 years

One year ago, thousands of people engaged in protest in the wake of George Floyd’s killing by a Minneapolis police officer. A persistent protest demand was for defunding police departments. The appeal of this rallying cry was obvious. Police in this country are a law unto themselves, killing and brutalizing at will, and rarely being called to account. Often these fatal encounters occur after minor offenses are committed or in the case of Black people, when a call for assistance instead leads to death.