As Atlanta Nears Adopting Budget, Mayor Commits To Funding Police

Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms says it’s important for police officers to have a decent salary and be able to afford a home in the city where they work.

Andrea Smith / Associated PRess file

As activists in the city, and across the country, call for defunding the police, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms says she won’t in the city of Atlanta.

Some activists want to completely disband police. Others want to reallocate some funds from police departments to other services such as mental health programs and education. 

Protests across the country have happened in hundreds of cities, including Atlanta, against police violence after the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. And calls have reemerged to defund police. This week, the phrase “defund police” was scrawled in large yellow block letters on the street in front of police headquarters in downtown Atlanta.