Sharpton: Only 'Latte Liberals' Support Defunding Police

The Rev. Al Sharpton on Tuesday called out "latte liberals" in their safe enclaves like the Hamptons who call for defunding the police, but said people "living on the ground" need police protection.

"We need to reimagine how we do policing, but when you are talking about the fact that," Sharpton told MSNBC's "Morning Joe," "we are in areas inundated with guns, that have this serious problem of people being given guns that can't even get a summer program, to take all policing off is something, I think, latte liberals go for as they sit around the Hamptons discussing this as an academic problem."

He was quick to add "people living on the ground need proper policing."

And, while more resources are needed in areas such mental health, he said, "We do not need our grandmothers [being] prey to those that are the users of products of the big gun manufacturers in this country."

The "Defund the Police" rallying cry began to be heard among some protesters during the summer after the killing of George Floyd and other Black Americans. It has moved into the halls of some major cities.

The Seattle City Council voted in early August to partially defund its police department, and Minneapolis, the site of Floyd's killing, has made a similar move, aiming to replace its police force with a "holistic" public safety force.

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