Vice President Kamala Harris expressed support for the 'defund the police' movement in a radio interview in June 2020 during a period of widespread protests for police reform. Her comments came shortly after the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, which sparked renewed calls for reevaluating police budgets and reallocating funds to community services like education, housing, and healthcare.
In the interview on a New York-based radio program 'Ebro in the Morning,' Harris acknowledged the movement's focus on questioning the allocation of resources to police departments versus other essential community needs. She emphasized the need to review budget priorities and criticized the trend of militarizing police forces while neglecting investments in public education.
At the time of her remarks, Harris had recently ended her own presidential campaign and had not yet been chosen as Joe Biden's running mate. However, following her selection as the vice presidential nominee in August 2020, the Biden campaign clarified that Harris did not support defunding the police. The campaign asserted that both Biden and Harris opposed the movement and advocated for increasing police funding.
Harris' then-press secretary, Sabrina Singh, affirmed the campaign's stance in October 2020, stating that Harris had consistently backed initiatives to enhance funding for police departments and promote community policing throughout her career.
