“Defunding the police means to stop paying police to harass, exploit, and control poor communities of color over non-criminal behavior and low-level offenses like homelessness, drug possession, and mental health crises. It means investing the savings in real solutions."

Source: Howie Hawkins, Twitter.com, June 12, 2020

"As your President, I will defund federal involvement in policing, and the DEA. The federal government has created a police state, which instead of protecting and serving, imports nameless, faceless SWAT teams to our streets.

I will end the supplying of military equipment like tanks and tear gas to law enforcement (1033 program). Americans should not feel like enemy combatants in their own neighborhoods.

I will also end civil asset forfeiture, which is state-sanctioned highway robbery. Police are now able to steal assets from Americans (billions of dollars every year) and transfer the spoils to their own police budgets. This is wrong, and a massive conflict of interest.

I will end no-knock raids, which too often end up killing innocent bystanders like Breonna Taylor.

I will end the failed, destructive drug war used to justify such abuses.

And I will end qualified immunity so that citizens can take legal action against police brutality.

It will be up to each locality to decide what level of policing helps them balance public safety with sacred liberties. But getting federal money out, repealing draconian laws, and holding officers accountable, will make those choices far easier and our communities both safer and freer."

Source: Communication from the Jorgensen campaign to ProCon.org on Sep. 8, 2020.