Madness: San Francisco to Hold Police Budget Hostage
San Francisco Police Department
This is the nuttiest story that you are bound to hear this week. San Francisco Supervisor John Avalos is part of the Board of Supervisors who review Mayor Ed Lee’s $9.6 billion budget proposal. Avalos appears to have little understanding of what a government agency is or how it works. That’s because Avalos will ask the five-member board Budget and Finance Committee to place a hold on $200 million of San Francisco Police Department’s salary budget. That would only allow the police department enough money to operate for six months before they would have to beg the city for more money so that they can continue operating.
The board would only release the additional money to the police department if they’ve made specific changes demanded by the board, like adopting a use-of-force policy that requires de-escalation techniques and “use of the ‘minimal force necessary” as opposed to “reasonable’ force.”
This is no joke people. This incompetent dickweasel must think that the police department is one of the for-profit contractors that the city pays, rather than a government agency with a necessary purpose. The police department isn’t motivated by money in their budget, their budget is there because it’s necessary to provide the required service to the city. What is the department supposed to happen in six months if the demands aren’t met? Disband the police department? That might work for small cities when the Sheriff’s Department or State Police can pick up the slack, but it’s absurd in a city as large as San Francisco.
The feds can use money to entice cities and states to comply with what they want, but cities and states have an independent source of revenue. If a city doesn’t get federal dollars, then the city can raise taxes to pay for services. A police department has no practical way to raise money. They only get to have what the city gives.
Almost as absurd as holding the budget hostage is the demand to change the use of force policies. No competent law enforcement professional could ever institute such an absurd policy as requiring minimal force necessary. The “reasonable” standard is there because it’s just that, reasonable. This policy would be saying to officers, “the amount of force that you used was completely reasonable in the situation that you were in, but you’re fired for your reasonable acts.”
Let’s spread the word about Mr. Avalos’ incompetence and prevent this dangerous man from carrying out his ill-conceived plan.
Source: San Francisco Examiner
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Jenn
Hey, SFPD…lots of other local departments are hiring!
And We the people support you.
Let the mayor and his staff protect the city themselves.