In an interview with ABC News broadcast on Sunday, former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams dismissed the “false choice” between defunding and reforming police, The Hill reported.
Abrams appeared on This Week to discuss progressive calls to defund law enforcement, calls which intensified following the death of George Floyd . Floyd died of asphyxiation after a police officer pinned him to the ground and knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.
While progressives and activists have called for defunding, top Democrats have pushed back against such suggestions, arguing that reforms would be enough.
Abrams said that the nation needs “reformation of how police officers do their jobs” and “transformation in how we view the role of law enforcement,” but she refused to back the idea of slashing police budgets.
“We are being drawn into a false choice idea. The reality is we need two things. We’ll use different language to describe it, but fundamentally, we must have reformation and transformation.”
Floyd’s death caused widespread outrage and resulted in nationwide protests. Some of the demonstrations turned violent, with hundreds of protesters clashing with security forces.
Georgia — where two African American men, Ahmaud Arbery and Rayshard Brooks, recently died after what seemed to be racially-motivated incidents — has had its own share of violent riots.
Abrams empathized with the protesters, saying that there is “legitimacy” to the “outrage” and “anger” they showed. The demonstrators, she argued, want their leaders to “actually” do something about police brutality.
As The Hill noted, some advocates have argued that taxpayer money used to finance police departments needs to be diverted to social programs. However, most Democrats — including the party’s presidential nominee Joe Biden — have nevertheless rejected such suggestions.
House Majority Whip James Clyburn has also aggressively pushed back against the idea of defunding police departments. The South Carolina Democrat said in a Sunday interview with CNN that “nobody” will slash funding, instead calling for reforms.
“The fact of the matter is that police have a role to play. What we’ve got to do is make sure that their role is one that meets the times, one that responds to these communities that they operate in,” he said.
Clyburn also said that the calls to defund police are counterproductive and only help President Donald Trump.
Abrams was long considered to be one of the top contenders for Biden’s running mate. The Georgia Democrat has openly stated that she wants to be on the ticket with Biden, effectively pitching herself for the job.
According to reports, Abrams’ public campaign for vice president has backfired. She is reportedly no longer viewed as one of the top contenders for the position.
