Coventry Lawmaker Opposes Defunding Police Departments

COVENTRY, RI — A Rhode Island lawmaker voiced his support for local police Friday. Sen. Leonidas Raptakis said he strongly opposes calls to "defund the police," or reorganizae funding to departments.

"As someone who owned a small business in Coventry for decades, I know how important it is to have a reliable and responsive police department to keep us safe and respond in time of crisis," the Coventry Democrat said. "I’ve always had a good relationship with these departments, and I am grateful to the leadership and individual officers who help make our communities special."

Raptakis said that he understands the need to make major changes in police department, addressing issues including use of force, but said he does not believe that "stripping local police department of funding" is the solution.

"We have seen police departments like the one in Minneapolis, where inappropriate and dangerous behavior by officers is ignored, until it leads to death and community outrage," Raptakis said. "We need to take a much more proactive approach to implementing community-based policing standards such as the ‘8 Can’t Wait’ standards that were developed after the Ferguson riots responding to the shooting of Michael Brown."

The comments come amid protests across the country calling for police departments to be defunded and for racial justice. Earlier this week, Sen. Harold Metts called for the state to reform the Police Officer's Bill Of Rights, which protects officers who are accused of misconduct from being fired immediately or placed on leave without pay