星空无限传媒

At the first meeting of Akron City Council鈥檚 Reimagining Public Safety Committee, Akron Police Chief Kenneth Ball made a brief appearance to get things rolling. 鈥淚 would say that I鈥檓 thankful to be here, but I鈥檓 not. I鈥檓 frustrated,鈥� Ball told members of council in September 2020.

Last summer, as protesters demanding racial justice flooded Columbus streets, a meme began passing around social media, depicting the city budget as a bar鈥�

Columbus Division of Police may be facing a $20 million budget reduction next year.Mayor Andrew Ginther unveiled his proposed 2021 budget on Thursday,鈥�

A poll conducted in mid-June found that most respondents thought police officers should be held legally accountable for misconduct. But few respondents favored cutting funding for law enforcement.

At protest after protest in Columbus, demonstrators have waved signs with calls to action like "abolish the police," "disband the police" or "defund the鈥�

The recent protests over the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other Black people killed by police are ramping into a policy debate over the鈥�

After nearly three weeks of protests, several police departments have already moved to make reforms, but when it comes to sweeping national change, it's not clear how far Washington will go.

An array of federal agencies funnel grants to local law enforcement. But some say that federal involvement undermines community accountability and focuses more on enforcement than minimizing harm.

The Democratic Party standard bearer's opposition comes as more activists call on cities and states to defund or abolish police departments, which President Trump's campaign has seized on.

Nine of the 13 council members, a veto-proof majority, pledged to "rebuild with our community a new model of public safety that actually keeps our community safe," in the words of one council member.