'BradCast' 6/2/2020 (Policing expert Alex S. Vitale on the growing movement to 'Defund the Police')

On today's 'BradCast':  Massive protests continue around the nation following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis eight days ago and the brutal response by law enforcement against peaceful demonstrators in many major cities. Meanwhile, it's Election Day in several states and Washington DC (presidential primary and municipal) today, many of which had been postponed due to the pandemic. Republican governors are refusing to expand absentee voting so voters can vote safely from home to avoid COVID-19 exposure, while Senate Republicans reject efforts to boost funding to give states the necessary time and resources to handle the unprecedented wave of mail-in voting we will see in this fall's critical general election. Trump decided to play tough guy on Monday by unleashing federal troops to attack peaceful demonstrators, priests, and foreign journalists covering the American Dystopian nightmare live on television, all so that Trump could pose for a campaign photo-op holding a bible in front of a  historic church.  The very real and systemic problem of brutal, racist policing has led to growing calls to "Defund the Police." Professor Alex Vitale, coordinator of Brooklyn College's Policing and Social Justice Project and author of the book "The End of Policing," explains how reforms instituted by the Obama Administration after several high-profile police murders of black men have failed to result in institutional changes to police departments around the country. Vitale says it is time to demilitarize and defund departments around the country, and explains how and why funding of many crucial social functions should be shifted away from police departments to social workers and community organizations, and how citizens can get involved. Plus Desi Doyen has our latest 'Green News Report'...