by Tom Gantert
The head of an Atlanta suburb made national news when he said that his neighborhood is considering seceding from Atlanta due, in part, to the “defund the police” movement’s impact on public safety.
Buckhead City Committee CEO Bill White said June 28 on Fox & Friends First that an increase in crime was the reason for wanting to leave and criticized then-Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms for supporting the defund the police movement. Buckhead has a population of approximately 100,000 people.
However, the police department in Atlanta has received more money, not less, since George Floyd was killed by a police officer in Minneapolis in June 2020.
The city of Atlanta spent $237.2 million on police services in 2020 and that increased to $244.5 million in 2021, according to the most recent audited budgets.
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Tom Gantert worked at many daily newspapers including the Ann Arbor News, Lansing State Journal and USA Today. Gantert was the managing editor of Michigan Capitol Confidential for five years before joining The Center Square.
Photo “Atlanta Police Officer” by Stephen Harlan. CC BY 2.0.
