"Cutting a police department that already had low staffing numbers, that was already struggling to keep up with the demand," Best told NPR on Wednesday. "How are we going to provide for adequate public safety in that environment?"
On Tuesday, Police Chief Chuck Lovell released a statement, saying "our elected officials need to do their part to draw a line in the sand and to hold people accountable."
Chico City Manager Mark Orme announced Matt Madden as the new Chief of Police on Wednesday morning.
“It’s going to be really difficult to even get police officers to come here in the future because public safety is at risk,” Union head Mike Solan said.
“This is not about the money and certainly isn’t about the demonstrators” who were blocked on a road near her home by neighbors, Best said. “Be real. I have a thicker skin than that. It really is about the overarching lack of respect for the officers, the men and women who work so hard day in and day out.”
Chief Carmen Best announced her retirement just hours after the city council approved a budget that would reallocate monies originally slated to be put toward the police department to community programs
“Criminals took to the streets with the confidence there is no consequence for their actions,” Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown said, implying State’s Attorney Kim Foxx's reforms have emboldened criminals, especially rioters and looters.
The Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission on Thursday demoted the city's police chief to the rank of captain.
Chief Terence Monahan was referencing officer hesitation caused by the city's new law that criminalizes even accidentally kneeling or sitting on a subject.
The chief of police for the Seattle Police Department has voiced concern over a plan being floated among some city council members to slash the agency's budget in half.