Oakland police chief fumes after city slashes law enforcement funding amid crime surge

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The Washington Examiner

Jake Dima, Breaking News Reporter

June 29, 202

An Oakland, California, police chief spoke out on Monday against city leaders after they voted to divert nearly $20 million from law enforcement amid an alarming spike in crime.

Last Thursday, council members voted 6-2 to remove $18.5 million from a proposed increase to the Oakland Police Department's budget. The law enforcement body will have $674 million to spend, compared to $665 million the previous year, though the increase is markedly less than the proposed $27 million spearheaded by Mayor Libby Schaaf, a Democrat. Last year's police funding accounted for 20% of the city's budget, while this year's makes up 18%.

“I’m challenged by the decisions that were made on Thursday around the budget for the city of Oakland, particularly for the Oakland Police Department,” Chief LeRonne Armstrong said in a news conference.

“We see clearly that crime is out of control in the city of Oakland, and our response was for less police resources ... when City Council members — the majority of them have voted to defund this Police Department. That additional $17 million will have an impact," he added.

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