No one is suggesting this, Sam Liccardo. None of your constituents are suggesting this. Protesters aren’t advocating for anarchy, they’re advocating for an overhaul of how we currently manage community safety in this city. They’re calling for INNOVATION.

In yesterday’s city council meeting, everyone who spoke to defunding the SJPD spoke about replacing/reforming with a better system. Precisely NO ONE advocated for slashing police budgets “as a means to express protest.” (source: https://youtu.be/_DHVbNHf_kw)

When you mischaracterize the #DefundTheSJPD protests in this way, you only serve to undermine and delegitimize the voices of your constituents… which seems to be the goal of you writing this piece in the first place.

Here’s what people are actually asking for when they say “defund the police”: