8:27 p.m.
The council began its discussion on the final motion to ratify or reject the decrease of $330,000 in police department general fund salaries and benefits to be held in the General Fund Reserve Balance for community outreach and programs.
Ward 4 resident Jake Allen said there are too many issues that can t be solved with a gun and handcuffs. He said community members shared their experiences and stated why they want to shift funding in the community because police officers are expected to do too much.  I think we need to change, and shifting funding is a start, but I would also like to support implementing participatory budgeting in the coming years, Allen said.Â
Curtis Rodgers wins damages from police involved crash lawsuit
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Oklahoma Sooners wide receiver Trejan Bridges and running back Seth McGowan are reportedly considered suspects by the Norman Police Department in a robbery investigation, according to Parker Thune of 247Sports.com.
Both players have reportedly been suspended by the team. We are aware of a matter that may involve OU student-athletes and are monitoring the situation closely, the school s athletic department said in a statement, per John E. Hoover of SI.com. The student-athletes in question have been suspended pending the outcome of an ongoing investigation. We have no other information to share at this time.
5. End the school resource officer program in Norman Public Schools
These demands were drafted to support the platform of the national Movement for Black Lives.
Last June, hundreds of people from our community came to City Hall to give testimony about the impact of police violence on their lives. You were moved by the strength of the community demands and personal stories to remove $865,000 from NPDâs budget and reallocate the money to community services. We hope you will uphold this promise to invest in community.
We know the backlash from the police and their political supporters was immediate and intense, and these funds have been tied up in litigation with the FOP until now. However, we remain unwavering in our demands that municipal government must divest from the violence of policing and invest in the things that actually create safety for all residents.
Editor, The Transcript:
We can all agree that public safety is vital for a flourishing community. Everyone wants to feel safe and valued.
Throughout last spring and summer, we saw calls for changes in policing in Norman. We also saw historic participation in city budget hearings with heated arguments about whether the police department budget should be increased or decreased.
Unfortunately, there continues to be a lot of confusion about the budget process and the police department budget that was actually passed.
Part of the confusion centers around the important difference between a proposed budget (a work in progress) and the approved budget. Funds are not allocated UNTIL city council approves the budget.
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