Defund the DC Metropolitan Police Department.
The DC police budget is well over half a billion dollars and it grows every year. As it gets bigger police violence only increases, as do homicides in our communities. Police aren’t just ineffective at keeping us safe, they actively harm our communities. We must completely divest from MPD and actively invest in resources like violence intervention, housing, health services, and so much more.
Ban Stop-and-Frisk In DC.
Most of the MPD’s half billion dollar budget is going to officers who spend their time stopping and frisking DC residents. That is why the DC Council must ban stop-and-frisk through legislation in order to reduce both the MPD’s power and its budget. A stop-and-frisk ban would not merely ban racial profiling. Instead, it would severely restrict police from stopping and searching people because they claim they have “reasonable suspicion” of a crime. And it would have enforcement mechanisms and remedies for people stopped in violation of the ban.
De-Militarize The DC Police.
The DC police presence in the city’s Black communities is that of an occupying military force. Over the last few days, protesters have experienced a sample of this brutal institution that Black folks in DC have to reckon with on a daily basis. Military style weapons are tools of repression used against DC’s Black and oppressed communities and must be removed from the hands of police.
All Forms Of Police Out Of DC Schools.
Right now, MPD School Resource Officers and contract security officers are present throughout the DC Public Schools and charter schools. But it’s well established that the presence of police in schools criminalizes children and are a key part of the school-to-prison pipeline. All DC schools must cut ties with law enforcement and replace them with humane transformative and restorative justice programs.
Protection For Sex Workers.
Policing and criminalization is incredibly harmful to members of our community who work in the sex trades and we call for the end of police harassment and assault on sex workers.
Dissolve Police Unions.
Police unions negotiate contracts with cities—including DC—that insulate police from accountability, even when they murder unarmed people. These agreements prevent cities from firing (or in DC even releasing photos of) violent officers who repeatedly violate people’s rights. Accountability and reducing the power of police requires the dissolution of these powerful institutions.
No New Jail.
Defunding MPD must also mean defunding the prison and jail system in DC. This includes stopping the construction of a new jail in DC. We demand no new in DC jail and funding for housing, healthcare, public transportation, and living-wages instead. “Prisons do not disappear social problems, they disappear human beings” -Angela Davis
Defund Metro Transit Police.
The MTPD constantly inflicts harm on DC Metro riders. We must also #DivestfromMTPD
End DC Government Collusion With ICE.
DC calls itself a sanctuary city yet MPD officers have turned DC residents over to ICE to be deported. All DC law enforcement must stop cooperating with ICE.
Mayor Bowser supports an abusive police chief and violent police department while hiding behind the painted words on "Black Lives Matter Plaza." We've had enough of her lip service and publicity stunts.
We see her clearly and demand an end to her hypocrisy and to #DefundMPD.
Video by Gabriel Kornbluh.