For months now there have been calls in all the major riots around the country to defund the police as a solution in the wake of the death of African-American George Floyd. Now large numbers of Black communities are coming out against that ‘stupid’ idea. .
The assumption by many is that these demands were only coming from within black communities, where many of the BLM protests occur. The truth is that many community leaders and locals from these do not want this at all. Many locals feel the only thing keeping their communities safe during these times is the police.
Three days after his 29-year-old son was shot and killed, Keith Harris joined a group of residents who clashed with protesters during a demonstration outside the Chicago Police Department's Seventh District station in the Englewood neighborhood.
The turbulent confrontation last week pitted demonstrators seeking to defund the police against crime-weary residents who say they want the department to better serve them. "I don't see how defunding the police is going to help anything in Englewood," said Mr. Harris, 53 years old.
A day later, Mr. Harris made funeral arrangements for his son, Keith Richmond. "I'm the last person who would be a police cheerleader, because I've had my own run-ins with them," he said. But, he added, "What are you going to do when they're not there to protect you?"
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