Tuesday protest calling for Cd’A PD defunding, demilitarization

Demonstrators will assemble this afternoon to call for the defunding and demilitarization of the Coeur d’Alene Police Department.

Some of the same organizers responsible for the June 4 march from the Coeur d’Alene WinCo to City Hall are behind the protest, set for 3 p.m. at McEuen Park.

“We’re going to be specifically protesting our department in Coeur d’Alene,” said Coeur d’Alene resident Brandon Badilla. “We want them defunded, and we want more money in the schools ... We want demilitarization of the police force and also demand that some are let go, because of the massive surge in cops in this area over the past few years. We want an end to cop profiling and racism, because they are both of heavy influence here.”

Since the May 25 killing of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department, protests have erupted across the country and around the world to speak out against police brutality and excessive police tactics, including the militarization of police departments.

Support for demilitarized police forces came from an unexpected voice Monday. Upon hearing news of the protests, Coeur d’Alene Police Chief Lee White — who has publicly denounced the notion of defunding Cd’A PD — said he agrees that weapons of war have no place in his department.

“We don’t have the military gear here,” he said. “We don’t have tanks. We don’t have (Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles, also known as MRAPs). We don’t want that kind of heavy equipment here.”

White further championed the department’s use of armored vehicles as defensive necessities, adding that giving his officers safe shelter from gunmen is something he’s not willing to relinquish.

“People act like (an armored vehicle) is the worst thing ever,” White said. “We’re just trying to give our police officers a place to safely hunker down if they need to, in case someone’s firing on them. I would think our community would want that.”

In previous interviews for a June 20 Press story about defunding police departments, Kyle Fancher of Coeur d’Alene called for demilitarization of local law enforcement by removing tear gas and gas masks from an officer’s equipment list. White said those were a necessary function of a particular team within the department.

“The only gas masks we use is for our SWAT team,” White said. “And without that tool to use — gas during barricade (situations), we’d be putting not only the public but also the suspects we’re trying to apprehend at unnecessary risk.”

He added that keeping that non-lethal tool available in very specific situations is something that can help prevent unnecessary loss of life. He further stressed that keeping most military-grade equipment out of his department’s hands is something in which he takes pride.

As for calls for staff reductions, White said cutting officers would be disastrous for his department.

“For the summer months,” he said, “we are not adequately staffed, based on the number of people in town. During the winter months and other months throughout the year, we have appropriate staffing. We have just enough ... But during the summer months, we simply don’t have enough officers.”