Disarm and Defund the OPS

When there is clear evidence of Ottawa community members suffering at the hands of the OPS, and many clear studies and scholarly works that demonstrate the inability to reform police services, it is the clear choice that as a community we must begin to move away from police in Ottawa. For wellness checks, there is no need for an armed officer to be involved. For neighbourhood or domestic disputes, there is no need for an armed officer to be involved. And why would you want armed officers patrolling our streets? The presence of the OPS and their license to use deadly force puts us all in danger, particularly our Black, Brown and Indigenous community members who have been terrorized for years by police services nationally. I therefore call upon the City of Ottawa to begin the process of reallocating police funds towards other, more meaningful community resources and to begin the process of disarming and demilitarizing the OPS by confiscating any and all weapons from as many officers as possible. If we want safer communities, we need to start by removing our most violent offenders from the streets: the Ottawa Police Services.