Biden Interview on Police Funding (VIDEO)

Corrected & Updated: This post has been corrected and updated to reflect Biden’s support of federal funding for community policing grant programs.

On Wednesday, 77-year-old Biden stumbled his way through an interview with health care activist Ady Barkan covering topics such as the left’s embracing of the defund the police movement.

Barkan was diagnosed with terminal amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in 2016 and speaks through a computer voice.

Barkan asked Biden, “The leaders of the movement for Black Lives believe that we have been trying to reform police departments for many decades and it is not working.  Instead, they believe that the solution is to reduce the number of interactions that civilians have with the police. We can reduce the responsibilities assigned to the police and redirect some of the funding for police into social services, mental health counseling and affordable housing. So, for example, instead of sending two police officers with deadly weapons to that Wendy’s drive-through in Atlanta, we could have sent a wellness counselor and a tow truck and then Rayshard Brooks would still be alive today and his 3 daughters would still have their daddy.  Are you open to that kind of reform?”

Biden replied, “Yes! I have proposed that kind of reform.”

Biden went on to provide some specific examples of police reform and funding for the types of social justice programs he supports.

Barkan, asking for a specific affirmation of his initial question, again asked Biden, “Can we agree that we can redirect some of the funding?

To which Biden answered, “Yes! Absolutely!

Despite his answer to Barkan in this interview, in the past, Biden has said he does not support defunding the police but rather would support tying federal funds, upwards of $300 million in federal community policing grant programs, to whether “they meet certain basic standards of decency, honorableness and, in fact, are able to demonstrate they can protect the community, everybody in the community.”

Biden also said that the police can appear to “become the enemy” when entering some communities.

“Surplus military equipment for law enforcement. They don’t need that! The last thing you need is an up-armored Humvee coming into a neighborhood just like the military invading!” Biden said. “They don’t know anybody! They have become the enemy — they’re supposed to be protecting these people.”

Watch a longer clip of the interview where Biden suggests Rayshard Brooks would be alive today if a mental health counselor and a tow truck were sent out that night to confront the drunk belligerent man passed out in front of a Wendy’s in Atlanta:

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Cristina began writing for The Gateway Pundit in 2016 and she is now the Associate Editor.

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