Former Vice President Joe Biden broke with Black Lives Matter in a statement released Monday by his campaign saying he does not support the nationwide “defund the police” movement that has gained ground following the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer.
“Biden does not believe that police should be defunded. He hears and shares the deep grief and frustration of those calling out for change, and is driven to ensure that justice is done and that we put a stop to this terrible pain,” Biden spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a statement.
It went on to say that Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, supports “the urgent need for reform,” including funding for public schools, summer programs, mental health and substance abuse treatment, “so that officers can focus on the job of policing.”
“This also means funding community policing programs that improve relationships between officers and residents, and provides the training that is needed to avert tragic, unjustifiable deaths,” the statement said.
According to the statement, Biden said funding should be made available so police departments can diversify to “resemble the communities in which they serve.”
He also called for more funding for body cameras.
“There are many police departments across the country who are seeking to realize these kinds of changes, but haven’t had the resources to — and the Trump Administration has in fact made obtaining those resources more difficult. This is at the core of Joe Biden’s plan to bring transformative change to our criminal justice system,” it said.
The Trump re-election campaign dismissed Biden’s stance as a “weak statement from a mid-level staffer.”
“Until Americans hear from Joe Biden himself, they have no way of knowing where he really stands,” Trump 2020 communications director Tim Murtaugh said in a statement.
“Joe Biden is the leader of his party and he could single-handedly step in and steer elected Democrats away from this terrible policy, which invites chaos in American communities, but he has remained secluded in his basement saying nothing. The ‘Defund the Police’ train has already left the Democrat station, and Joe Biden is merely a weak passenger,” Murtaugh said in the statement.
Trump, who has positioned himself as the “law and order” candidate, has been goading Biden to take a stand on the issue over the past several days.
“LAW & ORDER, NOT DEFUND AND ABOLISH THE POLICE. The Radical Left Democrats have gone Crazy!” Trump tweeted on Monday.
On Sunday, the president lumped Biden in with the other Democrats who have supported the effort.
“Sleepy Joe Biden and the Radical Left Democrats want to ‘DEFUND THE POLICE’. I want great and well paid LAW ENFORCEMENT. I want LAW & ORDER!,” the president tweeted.
A number of cities — including New York, Los Angeles and Minneapolis — are considering dismantling or diverting funds from their police departments to youth and social service programs.
“Policing matters for sure, but the investments in our youth are foundational,” New York Mayor Bill De Blasio told reporters Sunday during a City Hall press briefing. “We will be moving funding from the NYPD to youth initiatives and social services.”
Protesters and members of Black Lives Matter have been demanding to “defund the police” at national rallies against Floyd’s May 25 killing.
Derek Chauvin, the white officer who pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds, has been charged with second-degree murder in the black man’s death.
Three other officers who were involved in detaining Floyd have been charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder.