Seattle poised to cut police budget by 20%, second most in nation but short of 'defund' demands

The Seattle City Council has proposed reducing its police budget by 20%, which would make it one of several Democratic-run cities taking big chunks of money away from local law enforcement, MyNorthwest reported.

Many "Defund the police" activists who were calling for the city to cut its police budget by at least 50% may not be happy, but the cuts would make Seattle second only to Austin for biggest police budget reductions since the May 25 death of George Floyd. Floyd died while in police custody in Minneapolis, sparking nationwide protests against law enforcement.

The city council's plan calls for 35 officer layoffs by July 2021, for a total reduction of 100 officers in 2020 and 2021, according to MyNorthwest.