Abrams says she’ll fund police if elected Georgia governor

Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams (D) said that she will fund police departments in the state is she is elected governor in November.

In an interview with Axios published Thursday, Abrams said she wants to establish a grant program that is focused on helping raise daily wages for local law enforcement and implementing changes involving training standards and accountability controls.

Abrams’ plan will also include new guidelines for police policies within the communities, end training standards on the use of force and implement local departments to adopt new guidelines with state funding, according to Axios.

Abrams, who ran for governor in 2018, noted that Democrats can support law enforcement while addressing accountability changes with its departments, Axios noted.

“When we make smart investments in our law enforcement, we get better officer recruitment, we get better retention, we get better interaction with the community and we get a safer Georgia,” Abrams said.

Abrams also said that she isn’t worried about progressive voters’ response to her initiative, saying that people care about their lives and not about their party affiliation

Abrams’ response comes as her opponent, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R), just released a new campaign advertisement attacking Abrams for her support of the “defund the police” movement, Axios reported, which gained national attention amid the high-profile killings of Black Americans by law enforcement in 2020 and the social justice/police brutality protests that followed.

Abrams told the media outlet that Kemp “cherry-picked” information in his latest campaign attack against her.

Abrams added that her new incentive would cost the state around $116 million, noting that she is confident she can raise the money without any additional taxes, Axios reported.

“Georgia has the money. What we have not had is the leadership willing to invest the money,” Abram told the media outlet.

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