Philadelphians are right to be outraged
The City Controller, Rebecca Rhynhart, released a report on the City’s mishandling of the 2020 uprisings earlier this week. The report* confirmed what we already knew: city leadership, specifically the Mayor’s office and the Police Commissioner, are directly responsible for the violence that many of us experienced and witnessed throughout the city over the summer. As explained in the report, “the investigation found that the City failed to sufficiently plan for the protests and civil unrest despite having a blueprint for effectively maintaining peace during other large scale events in the past. This lack of planning had cascading negative consequences…The investigation found that the failure to staff appropriately likely compelled the City to compensate with increased and inappropriate force, including deploying teargas and other excessively violent reactions to protesters and bystanders.”
Philadelphians are right to be outraged. At a time when this city is struggling to meet the needs of our most vulnerable communities during a global pandemic, using chemical weapons against activists, bystanders, and even people inside their own homes was inhumane. Controller Rhynhart offered this reflection in the report, “Teargas is banned in warfare and has not been used in Philadelphia for civil unrest since the MOVE crisis in 1985. Despite this, teargas was deployed on our own people several times during the unrest…Without stronger leadership, the City will continue making the same mistakes.” It is clear to us that Black and brown communities will suffer more loss and violence, UNLESS we defund the police department.
Mayor Kenney -- Now is the time to end the violent legacy of policing and over-incarceration that you are complicit in. Now is the time to defund the bloated police budget and commit to public safety by fully funding our rec centers, libraries, art and cultural programing, community based anti-violence programs, the Office of Homeless Services, the Public Health Department, the Office of Workforce Development and Transitional Jobs, our public defenders, and other community-led services that promote healthy and safe communities. On April 15th, you will be giving the FY22 Budget Address. We hope you have learned your mistakes in the FY21 Budget process and put for a budget proposal that reflects what our communities want and deserve!
*the controller’s report process included collaboration with the Community Advisory and Accountability Council, which includes leaders from across the city including Reclaim Philadelphia Political Director, Amanda McIllmurray