Defunding Police

The amendment's supporters say “adequate funding is needed” to keep Kansas City safe, but Mayor Quinton Lucas opposes the proposed amendment because it “takes power” from local officials.

Republican lawmakers responded with outrage by moves in Kansas City and St. Louis to reshuffle police funding.

Critics note St. Louis already spends lots of money on law enforcement — but that hasn't resulted in lower crime.

A year after George Floyd’s death, in which former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder, activists for racial justice are still calling for cities to redistribute some money earmarked for police departments to mental health and other community services.

A ban on chokeholds, expanded police background checks and higher pay for most county sheriffs are in the bipartisan, compromise bill.

As Kayla Reed and a new generation of local leaders saw each of their reform efforts fail to curb police violence in the St. Louis area, they soon realized that what they really had to overcome was the police union’s political force in local elections.

In 2014, after Michael Brown Jr. was killed by a police officer, Aloni Benson took to the streets with other protesters.But the Berkeley native found…