Politics

Ocasio-Cortez Says Defunding The Police Will Require ‘Experimentation’ With Public Safety

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Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said in a virtual town hall Thursday that defunding the police will require “experimentation” with public safety.

“We can disagree about the details of it, but we can’t go back,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “As much as we want policy to be ‘I’m gonna propose it. I’m gonna have all of the answers and put a neat little bow and we’re gonna pass this one law once, and everything is gonna be fixed.’ That’s how we wish all of this stuff works.”

Ocasio-Cortez added that defunding the police will require lawmakers to pass legislation in the “spirit” of experimentation. (RELATED: Will Defunding The Police Work? Here’s What History Tells Us)

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) walks through a House corridor following an impeachment proceeding announcement, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., September 24, 2019. [REUTERS/Tom Brenner]

Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez walks through a House corridor following an impeachment proceeding announcement, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., Sept. 24, 2019. (REUTERS/Tom Brenner)

“What is it really is going to take is experimentation and to ask what if, and to even pass laws in the spirit of that experimentation as well,” Ocasio-Cortez added. (RELATED: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Falsely Claims D.C. Was The First U.S. Territory To Abolish Slavery)

Ocasio-Cortez has previously expressed her support for the “defund the police” movement, saying in June that the message should not be moderated to appeal to white, suburban voters.

“Our job as policymakers is to take the public’s mandate and find + create pockets to advance as much progress as possible. Progress takes a team of different roles. You don’t criticize a pitcher for not being a catcher,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted at the time.

“And by the way, the fact that ppl are scrambling to repackage this whole conversation to make it palatable for largely affluent, white suburban ‘swing’ voters again points to how much more electoral & structural power these communities have relative to others,” the thread continued.