Seattle’s City Council Overrides the Mayor After She Vetoed a Bill to Cut Police Funding

On Tuesday evening, the Seattle City Council voted to override Mayor Jenny Durkan’s veto of a $4 million cut from the police department’s budget. The final vote was 7-2 in favor of the cuts. With the decision going into effect right away, the police department will be cut $3.4 million. It happens to be less than the initial budget cut discussed.

City Council President Lorena González said as the cuts were approved, “We need a public safety that invests in harm reduction, and not the ongoing status quo of policing as we know it in America.” The new budget was opposed by one councilman Alex Pedersen, who said public safety would not be improved from it. He also explained, “It contributed to the early retirement of our city’s first black police chief.”

Seattle has about 1,400 officers employed and the cut will result in 100 positions being cut by attrition. Although it does not meet the demands of BLM protesters who seeked a 50% cut of the $400 million budget, the decision will still have an impact on the department regardless.

Sources: CNN, Theblaze.com; Photo: SeattleTimes