Mayor Daniel Lurie just dropped a budget bombshell that’s got local activists and civil rights defenders seeing red.

In a move that’s raising serious eyebrows, Lurie’s proposed $16 billion budget includes massive cuts to police oversight departments while simultaneously boosting law enforcement funding by $22 million. Talk about a tone-deaf financial flex.

The Accountability Apocalypse

The Department of Police Accountability, which investigates civilian complaints against officers, is facing potential elimination of key roles. This comes despite the department’s impressive track record of handling over 700 cases annually while maintaining 100% compliance with statutory deadlines.

Political Power Play

Civil rights advocates are not holding back. Yoel Haile from the ACLU of Northern California called the cuts “deeply troubling,” suggesting they serve a political agenda that deliberately deprioritizes oversight. The elimination could potentially expose the city to constitutional challenges and compromise due process.

Breaking Democratic Promises

Remember when San Francisco voters demanded stronger police accountability in 2016 and 2020? Those progressive ballot measures seem like distant memories now. By gutting oversight departments, Lurie appears to be rolling back years of hard-fought democratic progress.

As local attorney Zac Dillon bluntly put it: “Less police oversight leads to more police corruption, pure and simple”. Mic drop.

The budget’s fate will be decided by the Board of Supervisors by July 31st – and trust us, we’ll be watching.