#defund LAPD

[callese]

[fancyparadisetale]

[muzzyca]

So we're all.... We're all seeing it now right? Like.... I don't want to sound like a conspiracy theorist but we can't fucking trust the government to tell us the truth or protect us.

They're here for their own power and nothing more. They won't be satiated until we've been crushed to a fine dust. This city we all live in - they want to funnel anyone and anything that isn't their able bodied, nice white, cis, straight, Christian reality out of sight and out of mind. This is no post colonial era. Oh your city is getting gentrified? Back in the day it was called colonised.

It's harder to see now. Social media bombards us with too much and far too little information. The cycle will continue until we stop it.

8.2.22. Los Angeles

LA City Council voted to criminalize sitting in public on 20% of LA’s land in an effort to strengthen police power and funnel more unhoused and Black and brown people into jails. Council members used police to clear the chamber of protesters, and nearly all people in the chamber, in order to pass the measure without protest.

[Image 1 shows a line of police officers with their backs turned to the city council bench, facing an empty council chamber minus one person sitting in a bench, possibly a journalist.]

[kaydub80]

The oligarchy rules once again -- this time, at the local level.

[jdpink]

“Just pay attention. You’ll find out who’s really in charge.” Officially, stations are run by captains, with the help of an operations staff. At East L.A., Gonzalez discovered, there was a shadow government: a secretive group of sheriff’s deputies known as the Banditos.

Deputy gangs, or “subgroups,” with names like the Grim Reapers, the Regulators, and the Vikings, have plagued the sheriff’s department for fifty years.

According to a lawsuit filed by eight East L.A. deputies and the A.C.L.U., the Banditos gang “controls the East Los Angeles station like inmates running a prison yard.” Leaders, known as “shot-callers,” determined deputies’ hours, promotions, even days off. On patrol, they operated in the gray areas of law enforcement.

The mark of a Bandito is a secret numbered tattoo: a skeleton wearing a thick mustache, a bandolier, and a sombrero, and brandishing a smoking gun. (Deputy-gang tattoos are typically on the leg or the ankle.) Families of those killed by deputies allege that the deputies were “chasing ink”—trying to earn a tattoo.

In 2020, Villanueva announced a policy of zero tolerance on “deputy cliques,” and he also supported legislation that prohibits gangs in law-enforcement agencies. But, Kennedy and other critics say, the department has made no systematic attempt to determine which of its members have tattoos, and has yet to fire anyone for connection to a deputy gang. Instead, according to people who know the department well, the Banditos are thriving under Villanueva.

As a frequent guest on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show, railing against “the woke left,” Villanueva has been called the Donald Trump of L.A. This year, he is running for reëlection in a crowded field: eight opponents, all claiming that they will address deputy gangs. The primary is on June 7th.

[xxenbypunkxx]

[derogatoryapparently]

When will it stop!?!?! The man was a DOUBLE AMPUTEE!!!!! Seriously!?!?! Imma say this with MY.WHOLE.ENTIRE.CHEST.

FUCK THE POLICE!!!!!!

[rebel-girl-queen-of-my-world]

All bad apples. #abolishthepolice

#Repost @callmeshivy with @use.repost ・・・ I am just heartbroken by this one. Keenan Anderson was somebody’s high school ENGLISH TEACHER!? A DAMN TEACHER… and TASED him to death!? This man flagged down officers for help following his involvement in a CAR ACCIDENT!? And what did he get??? An overzealous and egotistical cop that triggered events that would steal his life.

NOTHING has improved since 2020! We STILL have NOT realized NATIONAL police reform! STILL. This time… we lost a TEACHER because of inaction. #justiceforkeenananderson #keenananderson #blacklivesmatter #sayhisname #defundthepolice #lapd #policebrutality #policemurder #police #racism #acab #policeviolence https://www.instagram.com/p/CnXA0JAOSg-/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[thoughtportal]

On Monday the Los Angeles City Controller’s Office released their highly anticipated LAPD helicopter unit audit.

from https://lataco.com/

[brokenteethphotography]

Lighter almost got you lit up…

[callese]

[nando161mando]

THE ONE PIG UNION STRIKES AGAIN

[thundergrace]

A reminder that police budgets have only increased since 2020. 2022 saw the most killings by cops in America than any year on record. 'Defund the police' is not a political platform, and no major party supports it, which is why there's no federal efforts to reduce police funding and allocate funds to community resources (even though it is proven that heavy police presence does not deter crime and high crime rates are directly linked to poverty and a lack of community resources).

The facts of this particular killing may very well be that Keenan Anderson caused an accident while under the influence, flagged cops down for help, was caught off guard when he was suddenly being treated as a suspect, and got anxious (naturally or as an effect of drugs) due to well cops being cops at him, and started to resist arrest as most Black people do at this point out of fear and the cops tased him to get him to comply.

But here's the thing, people don't need to comply. Cops just need to get control of a situation long enough to detain someone. When you get to the point you're putting a knee to someone's neck, you're past the point you were able to cuff them and get them into a vehicle.

It can never be justified. It will never be justified to kill an unarmed person. It's barely justified when they're armed when a trained cop should be able to shoot someone in a non-lethal area (it's literally easier) to disarm them.

There's no way you can make a case for several officers not being able to cuff one average man with no weapon.

[greymouse42]

so i definitely want to ask about Malachi's handwriting. and also! thinking about signatures made me think about credit cards which leads me to ask : after rent and groceries, what does Malachi spend the most money on? What does he think about saving up for, if he thinks about that at all?

This is the ask that actually made me Google how much the average LAPD officer gets paid. (Defund the poliiiiiiice ✨)

Anyway Mal’s handwriting is #bad, and he stashes all his extra income in a savings account that is making, like, 0.02% interest and he does not think about it at all, which I imagine drives Jan insane. His car is a money pit, but I feel like it's a death-by-a-thousand-cuts situation. He never has to stop and save up for whatever part or tool he needs, but the project is just never done.

I think he spends a decent amount on restaurants, too. But I don't think he has any concrete financial goals. That'd require him to think about the future more than he does. Paul should maybe talk to him more about that sort of thing.

Same question about money spending back @ Jan, because it's a good one. 👀

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Natalie Cassase

Published: Jan 21, 2022

Over 20 major cities across the U.S. have either cut or shifted police budget funds since the death of George Floyd in May 2020. As a result, 2020 likely saw the largest homicide increase in American history, with high crime rates continuing into 2021.

The following are crime spikes in cities that defunded their police.

New York: During the summer of 2020, New York cut $1 billion from its police funds. In June 2020, the city experienced a 130 percent increase in shootings in one month. Killings in August 2021 were up 50 percent.

Chicago: Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot claimed to be opposed to defunding the police while quietly cutting 400 police officers positions during 2020. Chicago saw 87 shootings over the 2020 4th of July weekend. The same year, carjackings were up 135 percent.

Los Angeles: Los Angeles cut $150 million from its LAPD budget last July. As of late November 2020, LA recorded 300 homicides. Killings were reportedly up 25 percent since 2019, and shootings were up more than 32 percent. Shootings in South LA rose 742 percent in the first two weeks of January.

Milwaukee: After cutting 60 police positions in 2020, Milwaukee proposed a budget to cut 120 police positions in 2021, cutting a total of $430,000 from the overall budget. Milwaukee experienced a 95 percent increase of local murders in 2020.

Louisville: Rather than directly defunding its police, Louisville voted to use portions of its funds for "recruiting a more diverse force" and "behavioral health professionals" to assist officers. They also boasted of sending millions to "disadvantaged and disinvested" communities. The city saw a 78 percent increase in 2020 homicides.

Seattle: Seattle reduced its police budget by 20 percent and saw a 74 percent homicide increase in 2020.

Minneapolis: Minneapolis cut $8 million from its police budget and saw a 72 percent increase in local murders during the 2020 year.

New Orleans: In 2020, despite seeing a 62 percent increase in 2020 homicides, New Orleans proposed a $16 million budget cut for 2021. It has now experienced an 11 percent increase from 2020 and 79% increase compared to 2019.

Atlanta: In 2020, Atlanta reallocated 50 percent of the corrections budget to social services and community enhancement initiatives and saw a 58 percent increase in 2020 homicides.

Portland: In 2020, Portland cut $15 million and disbanded a gun violence reduction unit, after which Portland saw an 83 percent increase in homicides in 2020. Source

Baltimore: Baltimore cut $22 million from its police budget in 2020 and has experienced a 17 percent increase in homicides compared to the same time last year. Thirty-seven businesses have requested a crackdown on low-level crimes. ​​Baltimore surpassed 300 killings for the seventh consecutive year.

Oakland: Oakland cut its police budget by $14.6 million in 2020. Homicides were up 500 percent, and shootings were up 126 percent in the first two weeks of January 2021.

Washington DC: Washington DC cut its police budget by $15 million, ending 2020 with a 19 percent increase in violent crime compared to 2019. In November, 2021 DC recorded its 200th homicide, a benchmark not reached since 2003.

Philadelphia: Philadelphia cut police funding by $33 million in 2021.  Since Jan 2020, 500 people were killed, and more than 2,240 were shot, 40 percent more than the police have ever recorded. In 2021, Philadelphia saw killings at a higher rate than in 2020. By September, killings were up 18% from the same time last year. In November 2021, Philadelphia reached 497 killings,13 percent higher than this time last year.

Hartford: After Hartford cut $1 million from its $4 million budget, it has experienced 20 murders through the first six months of 2021, The city experienced almost as many homicides in half a year as in each of the past three years.

Salt Lake City: Salt Lake City reduced its police budget by $5.3 million in 2020. By December, 2020 violent crime and property crime had increased more than 20 percent.

Austin: Austin cut its police budget by a third in 2020. By December 2020, murder was up 54 percent over the previous year, and aggravated assault was up 13 percent.

Dallas: Dallas cut $7 million from the $24 million overtime budget for police and by November 2020 surpassed 2019’s homicide rate, the highest on record since 1991. The city even experienced seven murders over a period of 24 hours.

Denver: The mayor of Denver claimed to be against defunding the police. However, the city's policies require healthcare workers to respond to domestic mental health calls instead of police. In 2020, the city recorded the highest number of homicides since 1981, a 51 percent increase.

San Francisco: San Francisco's mayor revealed her plan to  redirect $120 million into "health workers and workforce training.” San Francisco saw a double increase in shootings in the first half of 2021 compared to the past two years and a rise in aggravated assault.

In December, San Francisco Mayor, London Breed, launched an emergency police intervention in the downtown Tenderloin neighborhood. The mayor said, “it comes to an end when we take the steps to be more aggressive with law enforcement. More aggressive with the changes in our policies and less tolerant of all the bullshit that has destroyed our city.”

San Diego: After San Diego cut $4.3 million from its police overtime funds, the city saw a “disturbing” increase in violent crime with a 129 percent increase in gang-related shootings since Jan 1.

Unpacking the Cause of the Crime Spike

Lack of policing

Replacing police with unarmed civilians such as social workers.

Reducing or reallocating funds affects police activity. The Law Enforcement legal Defense Fund found that police activity such as arrests, stops, and searches declined by 48 percent since last June. In New York, for example, there were 40,000 fewer arrests made by July 2020. Consequently, during June of that year, murder was up 30 percent; burglaries were up 118 percent.; thefts were up 51 percent.

Police voluntarily leaving the force. In 2020, the NYPD saw a 75 percent increase in quitting or retirement. After George Floyd’s death in May 2020, close to 200 officers had left the Minneapolis police force by May 2021.

Lowered morale and hesitancy to police

The continuous narrative is that it is racist to enforce laws, particularly lower-level offenses.

Hostile rhetoric against police.

A lack of trust between police and prosecutors. Police go through the process of arresting criminals for them to be released and shortly re-offend.

Change in societal standards

The mass media continually downplayed and politicized the violence that took place during the summer of 2021. This sent a message of tolerance for violence, justification of vandalism, and explicit messages that law and order were not a societal priority.

==

Defunding the police had a body count. And it wasn't the elites who suffered.

Luxury beliefs are ideas and opinions that confer status on the upper class, while often inflicting costs on the lower classes. -- Rob Henderson