Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has signed a law aimed at blocking “defund the police” efforts in larger Georgia cities and counties, saying it’s unfair to “condemn and demonize” police officers.
“This far-left movement will endanger our communities and our law enforcement officers and leave our most vulnerable at risk,” the Republican Kemp said Friday while speaking at the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office gun range in Bethlehem, flanked by a number of sheriffs and police chiefs.
The law would limit governments’ ability to cut police funding by more than 5% a year after Atlanta and Athens-Clarke County officials debated but rejected plans to cut or redirect spending following racial injustice protests last year. The murder of George Floyd, a Black man killed in police custody in Minneapolis last year, launched demonstrations that were also fueled by the death of Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta.
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