RALEIGH, N.C. - On February 15, 2021, state Senators Edwards, Britt, and Sanderson filed Senate Bill 100 (SB 100), legislation that would restrict state funding for local governments who reduce funding for local police departments. The bill sponsors announced at a press conference earlier in the day that the bill is a direct response to efforts in communities to “defund the police.”
Chantal Stevens, executive director of the ACLU of North Carolina, issued the following statement after the legislation was filed:
“It is reprehensible to punish local communities for shifting resources towards deeper, more meaningful investment in communities that address the racial disparities found in policing practices. We should celebrate these efforts, not punish them.
“It is time that we reimagine what policing looks like with a decreased presence in North Carolina’s communities. Modern-day law enforcement has direct roots in the slave patrols that once dominated the South. After slavery, law enforcement was used to uphold racist policies, keep Black Americans from voting, and turn a blind eye to racial violence such as lynchings.
“We cannot address racial injustices perpetrated by police violence without shifting resources. This legislative effort should be rejected.”
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