With recurring cases of police brutality around the world, many have joined the “Defund the Police” movement, which calls for the abolition or reallocation of police funds to other areas of public safety. Morgan Freeman, however, is not one of those people.
While discussing his latest film, The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain, the Bruce Almighty star shared his stance on withdrawing funds from the police.
“I’m not in the least bit for defunding the police,” he said in an interview with Selena Hill. “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 the never pulled their guns except in rage, that sort of thing. I don’t know.”
His costar Frankie Faison agreed with his take, adding that officers tend to treat celebrities better than everyday people and should be treating everyone “equally.”
Freeman’s new film The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain is based on the 2011 police involved-killing of Kenneth Chamberlain Sr., a Black veteran suffering from bipolar disorder who accidentally triggered his medical alert device and was fatally shot by responding officers who arrived to check on him.
According to multiple news reports, none of the officers involved in Chamberlain’s killing were charged because they “acted appropriately.” In an effort to seek justice, the late man’s family filed a federal civil suit for $21 million against the City of White Plains and the White Plains Police Department. The court ruled in the cops’ favor, so Chamberlain’s family appealed the decision and won. The appellate court later admitted that the previous judge dismissed some of the claims made in the 2011 suit.
Look below to hear Morgan Freeman’s thoughts about defunding the police.