Attorney General William P. Barr on Monday criticized the movement to defund the police as “wrong” and “dangerous.”
“I think defunding the police, holding the entire police structure responsible for the actions of certain officers is wrong and I think it is dangerous to demonize police,” Mr. Barr said in an interview with Fox News set to air Monday night.
The attorney general said dismantling police departments will ultimately hurt the poor communities who need police protection. He cited the violence in Chicago, where a total of 85 people were shot over the first weekend of June, including 24 fatalities.
“If you pull back the police from these communities there will be, there will be more harm done in these communities,” Mr. Barr said.
While acknowledging changes need to be made, Mr. Barr said police departments across the country are taking steps to implement reforms.
“The police chiefs, the rank-and-file officers understand the need for change and there has been great change,” he said in the interview.
The push to defund police has gained steam in the wake of the May 25 death of George Floyd while in the custody of the Minneapolis Police Department.
Mayors in New York and Los Angeles have threatened to trim their departments’ budgets, while the Minneapolis city council debates whether to dismantle the city police department and replace it with something “transformative” but undefined.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.