Charlotte defunded police tear gas purchases. That’s a start.

The Charlotte City Council took a significant step toward police reform Monday, but it also was a small step, and it should be far from the only one officials take in this important national moment.

With a 9-2 vote, the council removed money from next year’s police budget for chemical agents such as tear gas. The move was a reaction to a deeply disturbing June 2 incident in which police trapped - or “kettled” - demonstrators at an uptown George Floyd protest, then tear-gassed them. Video of the incident prompted outrage among state legislators and local officials, including Mayor Vi Lyles.

Monday’s response was a meaningful gesture, a clear message from a city council that in previous years had been less willing to take direct action about police conduct. But Monday’s action is limited. It only eliminates chemical agents in one year’s budget, and it doesn’t take away what CMPD already has on hand. It also may not address pepper spray or flash bang devices, and it doesn’t address the overarching question of if and when such agents and devices should be used.

The council also tasked a committee with scrutinizing how CMPD spends money and creates policy, a move that might be a red flag to longtime observers of Charlotte government. Our city, like others, has a history of passive passion - a strong desire to acknowledge that something is wrong but less will to do a lot about it. The council certainly should thoughtfully consider any meaningful steps it takes regarding police, but it shouldn’t let the momentum for reform get caught in the slow grind of committee work.

Other cities appear poised for quicker action. In Los Angeles, mayor Eric Garcetti said he will direct hundreds of millions of dollars from the police budget into other initiatives and agencies that may be better equipped to deal with issues affecting black communities. Some cities are considering similar budget shifts, as well as calls to ban police chokeholds, deemphasize military-style equipment, remove school resource officers and address police discipline and transparency.

In Minneapolis, where George Floyd was killed and where police have long been accused of racism, a veto-proof majority on the city council has committed to dismantling the police department and invent a new community law enforcement model.

Democrats in Congress also want to address police issues on a federal level. They announced legislation Monday that would remove protections that shield officers accused of misconduct and would allow state attorneys general to create an independent process to investigate misconduct. It’s uncertain such a bill would pass the Republican-led Senate, and it’s unlikely the bill would get a signature from the president. True reform will likely come on a state or local level.

What does that mean for Charlotte? It’s not prudent to dismantle the police, as Minneapolis is proposing, but the council should explore what functions of police work might be shifted to organizations better-equipped to proactively deal with issues such as mental health. And while defunding a year of tear gas purchases takes away the method of crowd control in last week’s troubling incident, it doesn’t deal with the culture in which that awful behavior was acceptable to some.

We believe the kettling incident was not reflective of a department that has many good officers, but it also was not an isolated incident of questionable behavior, even at last week’s protests. Exploring why is a complex proposition, and it will take a real examination of police, their relationship with members of the community, and what has worked and not worked to improve that relationship.

This council, under this mayor, has shown an encouraging persistence in dealing with such foundational problems, most recently affordable housing. We hope this important moment doesn’t pass them by.

This story was originally published June 9, 2020 at 12:48 PM.