Defunding the police in Rochester, New York

For the second day in a row protests continue in front of City Hall in Rochester, New York. Community members want the a 50% decrease in funding for the police department.

This is after nationwide protest continue after the death of George Floyd, who was killed by a police officer in Minneapolis.

The budget cuts will include removing school resource officers from schools and making police department less responsible for some 911 calls.

I spoke to Mike Johnson one of the organizers of the protest. Mike says “I think defunding the police will help education get more teachers in our schools.” I also asked him how does he feel about the police he stated “ it’s not a matter of how I feel about the police, it’s the statistics that black men and women are targeted for minor things.”