Dr. Melina Abdullah, co-founder of Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, told a crowd of activists that Los Angeles is “home of the most murderous law enforcement offices in the country” and encouraged the crowd to shout “fuck Eric Garcetti” — the city’s mayor who has pledged to slash $150 million from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD).
“Sometimes people like your mayor, who I know likes to get in pictures with a lot of y’all — ” she began as someone from the crowd shouted “fuck Eric Garcetti!”
“Say it again,” Abdullah said as the crowd repeated the phrase and cheered.
“People like your mayor and your police chief want to utter the name George Floyd as if the murders happened in Minneapolis. They want to utter the name Sean Reed as if the murders only happen in Indianapolis,” she continued.
“They want to say Breonna Taylor as if those killings are confined to Louisville, but Los Angeles is the home of the most murderous law enforcement offices in the country,” she said to cheers, adding that the city is filled with “liberal white supremacists.”
“As we talk about white supremacists terrorists like Donald Trump — every time we say ‘fuck Donald Trump,’ we gotta say ‘fuck Eric Garcetti,'” she added:
“As we talk about a white supremacist terrorist like Donald Trump remember that we live in a city that is largely liberal white supremacists. So, when you say ‘Fuck Donald Trump, make sure you say Fuck Eric Garcetti’” – @docmellymel
Thank you @_PublicComment_ pic.twitter.com/jkSiQBR1sD
— People's City Council – Los Angeles (@PplsCityCouncil) July 1, 2020
Mayor Garcetti (D) has, largely, attempted to address the activists’ demands, announcing a $150 million budget slash from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) last month. He said they will “reinvest” city funds in “black communities, and communities of color; in those places left behind.”
“This is bigger than just a budget, but I want you to know we will not be increasing our police budget — how can we at this moment?” Garcetti asked.
As Breitbart News detailed:
He recounted statistics demonstrating racial inequality, and concluded: “I have instructed and committed … that our city … identify $250 million in cuts, so we could invest in jobs, in health, in education, and in healing. And that those dollars need to be focused on our black community here in Los Angeles, as well as communities of color, and women, and people who have been left behind, for too long.”
That would require cuts to every department, including the police, he said.
“We all have to step up and say: What can we sacrifice?”
Racial justice, he said, is “worth sacrificing for.”
Garcetti’s pledge, however, is not sufficient for Black Lives Matter LA. They are demanding the officials to adopt the “People’s Budget,” which focuses on “housing, public health and healthcare, child and youth development, food security, public transportation, and environmental justice.”
“54% of the unrestricted General Fund is currently allocated to LAPD. We demand that City Council and the Mayor disinvest from the police,” Black Lives Matter LA explains on its website.
“Recently, both Mayor Garcetti and City Council have unveiled proposals to cut the LAPD’s funds by up to $150 million; don’t be fooled, this would still leave over half our budget going to policing,” they added. “We demand more.”
Only 1.64 percent of general funds would go to law enforcement and policing under the “People’s Budget.”
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.