Joe Biden Doesn't Want to Defund Police, But Reform It Instead

Joe Biden‘s campaign is speaking out about reports claiming he supports defunding police.

According to a campaign rep, the 77-year-old Democratic nominee is actually pushing for police reform, not defunding; as well as supporting more spending on schools, health, community and social programs.

“As his criminal justice proposal made clear months ago, Vice President Biden does not believe that police should be defunded,” the spokesperson, Andrew Bates, shared in a statement. “He hears and shares the deep grief and frustration of those calling out for change, and is driven to ensure that justice is done and that we put a stop to this terrible pain.”

While the Trump campaign stressed that Mr. Biden wants to defund the police, his own campaign revealed that’s not the case at all.

“Biden supports the urgent need for reform … so that officers can focus on the job of policing,” Mr. Bates added. “This also means funding community policing programs that improve relationships between officers and residents, and provides the training that is needed to avert tragic, unjustifiable deaths.”

The spokesperson continued that “there are many police departments across the country who are seeking to realize these kinds of changes, but haven’t had the resources to — and the Trump Administration has in fact made obtaining those resources more difficult. This is at the core of Joe Biden’s plan to bring transformative change to our criminal justice system.”

If you missed it, Mr. Biden met with the family of George Floyd ahead of a memorial service in Texas this afternoon.