LA moves to cut police budget by $150 million; reallocate money to black areas

Mo' Money

A new L.A. City Council motion is seeking to slash up to $150 million from its law enforcement budget in order to reallocate the money to benefit minority communities.

According to LAist, Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez introduced a motion on Wednesday to request up to $150 million in budget cuts for the Los Angeles Police Department.

The motion is supported by Councilmembers Herb Wesson, Curren Price, and Monica Rodriguez, and was seconded by Budget Committee Chair Paul Krekorian.

If passed, the motion will redirect budget funds to "disadvantaged communities and communities of color."

The outlet reports that the overall LAPD budget is $3.1 billion annually.

On Wednesday, Deadline reported that Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti (D) said the city would not be increasing the police budget.

Garcetti said that he is "committed to making this moment not just a moment," and promised that the budget would not increase.

"It is time to move our rhetoric towards action to end racism in our city," he said. "Prejudice can never be part of police work. ... It takes bravery to save lives, too."

"We will not be increasing out police budget," he added, highlighting the importance of "reinvesting in black communities and communities of color."

Garcetti spoke of "reinvesting in black communities and communities of color."

"The mayor proceeded to announce $250 million in cuts to the proposed budget and to reallocate those dollars to communities of color, 'so we can invest in jobs, in education and healing,'" the outlet noted. "L.A. Police Commission President Eileen Decker then announced that $100 million-$150 million of those cuts would come from the police department budget."