Legendary actor Morgan Freeman is adamantly opposed to defunding the police.
The push for major police reforms was incited on Memorial Day 2020 following the killing of George Floyd at the hands of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. Chauvin was recorded kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than 9 minutes until his life drained out of him.
In an interview with Black Enterprise, the Oscar-winning Lean on Me actor explained that the institution of law enforcement has benefited the country despite its flaws.
“I’m not in the least bit for defunding the police,” Freeman said.
“Police work is, aside from all the negativity around it, it is very necessary for us to have them and most of them are guys that are doing their job. They’re going about their day-to-day jobs. There are some police that never pulled their guns except in rage, that sort of thing. I don’t know,” he said.
The subject was broached because Freeman’s next film, The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain, is a heart-wrenching story of a Black military veteran who is killed by law enforcement.
The actor who portrays Kenneth Chamberlain in the film, Frankie Faison, concurred with Freeman’s sentiments about sustaining a strong police force in America. Faison, one of the major stars of the classic comedy Coming to America and the unforgettable series “The Wire,” does want to, however, highlight major injustices in law enforcement through the movie, the Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain.
“Well, I agree with Morgan,” Faison said. “I’m certainly not in favor of defunding policemen.”
