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Some communities are responding to sustained calls for policing reform. Others are targeting protesters.

• Last week, city councils in Austin and Seattle approved cuts to their police department budgets.
• Other cities, like Omaha, Nebraska and Wichita, Kansas are eyeing budgets that would increase funding for law enforcement.
• In San Francisco, where law enforcement cuts are underway to steady the city’s budget, a record-breaking number of officers have resigned this year.
• After covering local gang violence last year, Fort Worth Star-Telegram reporter Nichole Manna wondered if another community out there had cracked the problem. She wrote about a mentorship program that is linked to a 70% drop in violent crime in Richmond, California. Now, Fort Worth is developing a similar program that aims to reduce violence.
• Speaking of the Lone Star State: The Texas Rangers have a largely unacknowledged history of racism and xenophobia, despite targeting Native Americans and people of color throughout the 19^th and 20^th centuries. In 1918, the Rangers participated in the Porvenir massacre, during which 15 unarmed Tejano men and boys were killed. This year’s racial justice protests have led to increased calls for the Texas Department of Public Safety and Major League Baseball team to shed the Texas Rangers name.
• In Tennessee: For two months, protesters have staked out space outside the Tennessee Capitol for 24 hours a day, prompting state lawmakers to pass a bill targeting demonstrators. If signed into law by Gov. Bill Lee, the bill would make it a felony to camp overnight on state property. Under the measure, camping outside the Capitol would carry a more severe punishment than throwing human waste at a police officer, which the bill makes a misdemeanor. The measure, which could cost an estimated $1.3 million, is at odds with Gov. Bill Lee’s goals for criminal justice reform, and the American Civil Liberties Union and others have encouraged him to veto. However, Lee has said he plans to sign it.

New from Big If True

• Later this year, we’re starting an in-depth reporting series examining how the pandemic has impacted low-income Americans. This series will feature the work of a different contributing journalist each month.
• That means we’re accepting pitches! More details here.
• ICYMI: We’re crowdfunding to support our continued coverage of evictions in Oklahoma. Chip in here.
• Last week on our podcast, Hard Reset: Although far-right personalities have argued for years that Facebook is biased against them, the company has avoided penalizing conservative figures for posting misinformation. Also, why we might have to let go of our traditional idea of “election night” this year and a look at the president’s recent executive order on evictions.

Thank you for reading Hard Reset. Send me feedback, questions and tips: bryant@bigiftrue.org and 405-990-0988.
 
– Mollie Bryant
Founder and editor, Big If True