Amid Calls to Defund Police, Portland Forced to Increase Spending by 200 Percent

As protesters in Portland continue to call for defunding the police, the Portland Police Bureau spent nearly $7 million on overtime pay in June and July—200 percent more than the same time frame last year—as officers were dispatched to quell violent anti-police protests.

Portland’s KATU News reported Tuesday that PPB has spent at least $6.9 million in overtime pay in June and July, amid a wave of nightly anti-police riots that began in the city in late May.

From January until June, PPB had only spent $4.5 million on overtime pay.