Glendale mayor vows to keep police department ‘fully funded’
Jun 8, 2020, 11:30 AM | Updated: 1:45 pm
(Flickr/Gage Skidmore)
PHOENIX — Glendale mayor Jerry Weiers announced on Monday that he vows to keep the city’s police department fully funded.
“Much as there is a world of difference between peaceful protestors and those intent on burning down buildings and looting local businesses, there is a world of difference between that rare bad cop and a department full of good cops,” Weiers said in a statement.
“Our police force will remain FULLY FUNDED so long as I am the Mayor of Glendale.”
All six members of the City Council signed on in support of Weiers’ statement.
Protests in response to the deaths of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Dion Johnson in Phoenix at the hands of law enforcement have taken place across Arizona for nearly two straight weeks now.
“While videos like those of George Floyd are shocking to see and cases like his have appropriately led to murder charges, the public needs to remember that NO ONE hates a bad cop more than a good cop,” Weiers said.
“We are blessed with an outstanding police force in Glendale, Arizona, and I am unalterably opposed to any effort to defund our police department.”
“Defund the police” has become a common chant and demand among protesters, but the phrase doesn’t necessarily mean abolish law enforcement.
Instead, it’s asking for funds that would be going to the police department to be redistributed to other programs.
Weiers pointed to the shooting that occurred at the Westgate shopping center on May 20 as an example of Glendale Police Department’s “speed and efficiency.”
“Now imagine how long it would take for help to arrive in their absence?” Weiers asked.
Weiers has been the mayor of Glendale since 2013 and will be running for re-election in August.
“Keeping our city safe is job No. 1 and that is why our police and fire [departments] enjoy some of the best compensation packages in the state,” Weiers said. “They also receive quality training and every officer, from the chief to the newest recruit, knows that we are all partners in keeping Glendale as safe as possible from those who would do us harm.
“There is evil in this world and it should be recognized, identified, isolated, and dealt with.”