As Trump gives in to his baser instincts, some cities look for policing changes – CNN

But with peaceful protests continuing for the 12th day on Saturday, Trump and his campaign team showed this week that his baser instincts -- divide, attack, polarize -- will prevail. His passing attempt at words of healing gave way to his calls for domination of protesters in the streets, an effort to malign Washington, DC's black mayor as "grossly incompetent," and then a text message from his campaign Saturday declaring: "Liberal THUGS are destroying our streets. Restore LAW & ORDER!" Trump hasn't let up.The Trump campaign's efforts to incite fear and amplify falsehoods created a striking contrast with the images of thousands of protesters of all races walking together in solidarity at huge demonstrations in DC, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles -- a reminder that the nation is now at an inflection point.

The central question that lingers over the demonstrations is where the debate goes from here and whether it will produce actual change. Or, if the President has his way, will the energy of the protests simply be viewed as another red-blue issue where some cities and states step forward with policing policy changes while Trump and his allies use the fear of that change as a cudgel they can wield in the upcoming elections.

Demonstrator Olivia Butler reflected on that uncertainty as she marched down Constitution Avenue in Washington, DC, Saturday.

"I'm very thankful that all the support is out here from young people to old people, all different races. I think it is great they're out here now but I am a little skeptical about if it is authentic," Butler told CNN's Boris Sanchez Saturday. "This is not something that is going to be solved with a week's worth of marches, or something that's going to be solved with a month's worth of marches."

"It is something that's going to be solved through legislation, through new precedents being set in our legal system, and then social change so people's mindsets [are] changing so we don't keep fostering the sense of underlying racial bias in the country. ...This is not a fight only in these streets while we're marching."

Signs of policy change in some US cities

In California, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom said he would work toward a statewide standard for policing peaceful protests and ending the carotid hold, along with similar techniques. "Protesters have the right to protest peacefullynot to be harassed. Not to be shot at by rubber bullets or tear gas," he tweeted. "Today I am calling for the creation of a new statewide standard for use of force in protests. Acts of violence against peaceful protesters will not be tolerated."

"George Floyd died on the street slowly and deliberately strangled and our children watched," Minneapolis school board member Jenny Arenson said during the meeting of the Minneapolis Board of Education Tuesday. "Minneapolis police, individual officers and the city have work to do. And until they demonstrate they have done that work, we need to separate our relationship."

While many praised the move on a day when tens of thousands of people took to the streets in DC, the DC Chapter of Black Lives Matter Global Network called the street mural a "performative distraction from real policy changes" and said Bowser "has consistently been on the wrong side of BLMDC history."

CNN's Alex Marquardt spotted black graffiti on the yellow lettering in Black Lives Matter Plaza Friday night that said "Not good enough."

Calls to defund police create potential risks for Democrats

The rallying cry to defund police from some quarters of the black community and some progressive groups will undoubtedly become a flashpoint as the presidential campaign heats up.

Many conservatives on Twitter have already sought to suggest that defunding the police is now part of the Democrats' agenda -- an argument that could complicate the re-election prospects of former Vice President Joe Biden as well as more moderate Democrats in swing districts in November.

During a town hall Thursday evening moderated by actor Don Cheadle, Biden was asked whether he agreed with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti's proposal to cut the Los Angeles Police Department budget and re-appropriate $150 million dollars to communities of color that are suffering.

"I think it makes sense," Biden responded. "Some places, they're short on having enough people to cover the community, others, the police departments have a lot more than they need. And so, it depends on the community, but it's all about treating people with dignity, just treating people with dignity, period. And then setting down basic fundamental rules that relate to what constitutes adequate and fair police conduct."

On Saturday, former DC police chief and former Philadelphia police commissioner Charles Ramsey, who led a task force on 21st century policing for former President Barack Obama, also weighed in on the thorny issue of defunding the police.

"I don't disagree that we need more social workers; we need more health care professionals, mental health teachers, counselors, and the like," Ramsey told CNN's Ana Cabrera. "But how are you going to actually go about implementing that? And if you defund police, what is it that you are willing to sacrifice that police are currently doing that you no longer want them to do?"

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As Trump gives in to his baser instincts, some cities look for policing changes - CNN