DC4D Testimony on Police Budget

Note: This testimony was delivered in writing, as we were not able to testify at the live hearing.

Testimony of Elisabet Eppes
Secretary, DC for Democracy
Before the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety
Budget Oversight Hearing
June 15, 2020

Chairperson Allen, my name is Elisabet Eppes and I am testifying as Secretary of DC for Democracy, an all-volunteer organization that promotes progressive issues and candidates.

I am here today on behalf of DC4D to urge the Council to divest from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and reinvest in vital services that actually protect our health and safety, including housing, healthcare, education, social services, public transportation, and evidence-based anti-violence programs. The recent murders of George Floyd by the Minneapolis Police Department and Breonna Taylor by the Louisville Police Department demonstrate that police pose a grave threat to Black men and women throughout the US. In response to these murders and other examples of police brutality, people have taken to the streets in cities across the country to demand an end to police violence.

Here in Washington, DC, our Black neighbors are frequently subject to excessive force at the hands of the police. For years, community members have been experiencing harassment, threats, dangerous escalation, and abuse from MPD, but when they have brought their concerns to the attention of the DC government, very little action has been taken. In fact, MPD’s budget has steadily increased in recent years, leading to increased police presence as well as more militarized weapons and equipment. The health and safety of DC residents has not improved as a result of increased police presence here in the District – on the contrary, gun violence and homicide rates have increased. The “reforms” that have passed in recent years have done little to reduce police violence nor to improve public safety more generally.

Mayor Bowser’s proposed budget would add $18.5 million to the MPD budget, which already has a budget of over half a billion dollars. This addition of funding for MPD is in conjunction with cuts to vital social service and public health programs—the very same programs that have been proven to be effective in promoting health and safety.

DC4D demands that the DC Council significantly reduce the funding currently proposed for MPD, and redirect that money to education, healthcare, housing, homeless services, and non-police solutions to violence. Specifically, we urge the DC Council to fully fund the Office of Neighborhood Safety & Engagement, the Cure the Streets program, the Office of Victims Services and Justice Grants, and the Department of Behavioral Health. We also urge the Council to: 

• Reallocate funding from MPD to pay for mental health and medical professionals to respond to emergency calls; 

• Expand services for formerly incarcerated DC residents, including housing, education, and job assistance; 

• Zero out funding for school resource officers; 

• Expand mental health services, trauma-informed care, and technology needed for remote learning for children enrolled in DC schools; 

• Maintain a permanent budget item for public housing repairs, including a commitment of $60 million in FY 2021; 

• Increase the availability of high-quality childcare;

• Maintain and increase funding for vital nutrition and food access programs;

• Suspend rent and mortgage payments in DC until the COVID-19 crisis is over; and

• Provide COVID-19 relief funding to all DC residents, including undocumented residents. 

Thank you for your time.