Saturday, June 20, 2020. New York City – This is a petition from the Drug Policy Alliance.
“Let’s defund the NYPD & reinvest in communities.
You’ve helped us fight to end racially biased, unjust enforcement of marijuana prohibition and work toward legalization that is rooted in racial justice.
We’ve seen the harms of overpolicing up close in our work to end the marijuana arrest crusade in New York. We’ve seen how policing plays a pivotal role in the racist drug war and how resources have been funneled into law enforcement instead of vital services that make our communities safer.
That’s why DPA calls for New York to divest from law enforcement and reinvest resources into the Black and Latinx communities that have long been the target of the drug war and racist policing.
Momentum for reform is growing. We just took a historic step toward police accountability with the passage of key bills from the Safer NY Act including the establishment of a special prosecutor to investigate and bring charges in cases of police killings and the repeal of 50-a, the statute that has been used to hide police misconduct for decades.
This win comes after years of working in coalition with Communities United for Police Reform, families who have lost loved ones to police violence, and supporters like you. Governor Cuomo signed 50-a repeal into law last Friday, making it effective immediately.
But our fight to change policing isn’t over. We have until the end of the month to cut $1 billion from next year’s NYPD budget. Urge Mayor de Blasio and the NYC Council to cut the NYPD expense budget and shift funding to critical social services and communities hardest hit by racist policing.
The police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and countless other examples of police brutality have mobilized people all over the country and created an urgent demand for justice and accountability.
In too many cases, drugs have been used by law enforcement as an excuse to target, harass, assault and kill Black people. And policing continues to fuel the drug war being waged in our communities.
New York City has the largest and most militarized police force in the United States. It’s beyond time to shift resources and reinvest that funding into ending our city’s overdose crisis, homelessness, and income inequality – especially as we face extreme budget shortfalls due to the pandemic. We have the roadmap and the people power to make the cuts, but we need your support.
Right now, there is unprecedented momentum to reform policing in NYC. Tell Mayor de Blasio and the NYC Council to cut next year’s NYPD expense budget by $1 billion and redirect savings to core needs in Black, Latinx and other NYC communities of color impacted by the drug war.
As we continue to work to end the racist drug war, we know our work is not possible without demanding justice for Black and Latinx lives and an end to police violence.
Sincerely,
Melissa Moore
Deputy Director, New York
Drug Policy Alliance”
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