Saskatoon group rallies to 'Disarm, Defund and Abolish the Police'

A group in Saskatoon calling for defunding the police says the police and health systems should be restructured so there are specific services for people with mental health concerns to go to.

"The reason we need to defund the police one of the many reasons is so that everyone is taken care of first," said Eileen Bear with Saskatoon Coordinating Committee Against Police Violence.

The group organized Sunday's "Disarm, Defund and Abolish the Police" rally and asked supporters to send a letter to Saskatoon's elected officials asking them to "start divesting from the [Saskatoon Police Service]immediately."

Agatha Eaglechief attended the rally in memory of her son who was killed three years ago.

"The struggle is real for me," she said. "I'm living it, like, right now, I, anywhere I go, I could be shot."

She said she would like to see more support workers, adding that her son struggled with issues that he didn't have proper support for.

Sonny Carson said people think defunding the police is an ethnic issue, but the problem affects everyone.

"We all want to be one community, we all want to be safe,we all want to get along," he said.

Carson would like to see the police have a conversation with the people about what defundingmight look like.

The city needs a shakeup, says Bear

Eileen Bearsaid defunding the police doesn't mean abolishing the service right away but moving it to workers more suited to responding in some crisis situations, such as nurses. She said there are gaps in social services that could be filled if money that goes to police wasredirected.

Police chiefs and mayors in Saskatoon and Regina have said they do not believe defunding police is the right approach to reduce police enforcement.

They said the city could not put money into social services such as mental health because that is the purview of the province.

"Why not start? Nothing's stopping them to start," said Bear.

"They're our representatives; they work for us. Nobody's saying they can't start doing that, the city councillor and mayor, they also need a shakeup."

Ralliers also called for the disarming of police services. Bear said officers do not need Tasers, batons or militarized vehicles.