It Could Happen Here — & Has Happened Here: Community Before Cops Statement on the Chauvin Verdict

The Derek Chauvin conviction is deeply felt across Monterey County, particularly in our Black, brown, Indigenous, disabled, and working class and poor communities, who are most affected by the surveillance and terror inherent to policing. Community Before Cops recognizes that while this verdict is a step toward healing and even a cause for celebration, it does not amount to justice. Real justice will necessitate ensuring that our communities’ limited funds are not spent on the same unreformable systems which murdered George Floyd in Minneapolis, Brenda Mendoza in Salinas, and 16 year old Ma'Khia Bryant in Columbus, Ohio, killed by police as the Chauvin verdict was being read.

Nearly 65% of likely voters across America believe that law enforcement funds should be reallocated to non-police emergency services[1]; Community Before Cops is committed to supporting that transformative vision in our cities’ upcoming budget conversations this May and June. Not one more dollar should go to the police, who routinely spend over 40% of our city budgets. Instead, we intend to continue supporting the thousands of our neighbors who wish to see their tax dollars spent on youth programs, COVID relief, libraries, restorative justice, recreation departments, rehabilitation, environmentalism, and other social services which studies have shown secure real public safety for all.

The CB4C Mission Statement: Committed to reinvesting our tax dollars into programs that strengthen and uplift our community by divesting from police. Real public safety now!


[1] https://theappeal.org/the-lab/polling-memos/likely-voters-support-non-police-emergency-response/