The Los Angeles City Council will present a motion to replace the Los Angeles Police Department with unarmed law enforcement in non-emergency situations.

Councilmember Herb Wesson Jr. announced that he would be presenting the motion to replace police in non-violent calls, tweeting out, “We’ve given this responsibility to law enforcement but, more often than not, in non-emergencies they may not be best equipped to safely handle the situation. These calls need to be directed to workers with specialized training who are better equipped to handle the situation.”

The motion comes a day after the council heard the People’s Budget LA speak on their demands to make changes to the LAPD budget and allocate the funds to the “priorities and needs” of Angelenos.

“The world has cracked open, and you all have the opportunity to be courageous and do something different in the city of Los Angeles,” Dr. Melina Abdullah, co-founder of Black Lives Matter LA, said in front of the council Monday.

The representatives for The People’s Budget had asked that funds for the LAPD budget be allocated toward housing the homeless, public school resources and mental health services.

The council is addressing the motion during today’s session. L.A. Weekly will update as more news follows. 

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