Berkeley, Calif., moved forward with a proposal Wednesday to eliminate police from conducting traffic stops and instead send unarmed civilian city workers.
The proposal is part of a broad overhaul of law enforcement – the City Council has set a goal of cutting the police budget by 50 percent.
The council approved the measure, proposed by Mayor Jesse Arreguin, in a nine-hour virtual meeting ending at 3 a.m.
“For far too long public safety has been equated with more police,” Arreguin said.
Though many cities have proposed sweeping police reforms in the wake of racial injustice protests, the plan to separate traffic violations from law enforcement is believed to be the first of its kind in the U.S.
The reform plan also seeks to remove homeless outreach and mental health and crisis management from the jurisdiction of armed officers, according to the East Bay Times. – READ MORE
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