The mayor of Vermont’s largest city has proposed cutting $1.1 million from the police department amid calls by activists in Burlington and nationwide to defund the police.
About $300,000 would be used for a racial equality and police transformation fund, Mayor Miro Weinberger said as he discussed his proposed city budget Monday. Hundreds of people phoned into the meeting.
“This is a moment where we need to make long-overdue progress towards police transformation and racial justice,” he said.
But many residents said the mayor’s proposal doesn’t go far enough. The Vermont Racial Justice Alliance has urged the city to reduce the police force by 30% and remove officers from schools.
The move comes amid mass protests around the country and in Vermont over police violence and racial prejudice following the deaths of Minneapolis resident George Floyd and other black Americans.
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