Congressman Gonzalez on “Defunding the Police” and Police Reform

WASHINGTON - Today, Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15) released a statement on police reform and "defunding the police":

"We are seeing, now more than ever, the critical need to reform our policing system and its officers. It's not about defunding, but about making substantial changes to training methods that impact the way policing happens in America.

We need to promote a system that encourages and rewards good officers for taking a stand against bad officers who hurt the reputation of all police in America. We need to raise accountability and provide additional racial and bias training for police. Independent review boards, body cameras, and using violence as a last resort to de-escalate situations are just a few places we can start to make change.

To make America safe, we also need to put more resources into public education, affordable housing, homeownership, access to capital for small businesses, and health care. Taking care of our citizens and providing for them is what makes Americans and their communities safe."