Patrick Lynch, the president of the Police Benevolent Association, spoke on the final night of the Republican National Convention on Aug. 27, 2020. He accused Democrats of targeting law enforcement in their recent activism against police brutality, saying, “They have hijacked and dismantled the criminal justice system.” Some activists have called to “defund the police” in their communities in response to the deaths of Black Americans at the hands of law enforcement in the last several months. But the movement is not necessarily about eliminating police forces entirely -- some approaches call for divesting funds from the police and reinvesting them in education and social services, for example. The House of Representatives passed a sweeping policing overhaul in late June, but there is little chance it will pass in the Republican-led Senate.

Stream your PBS favorites with the PBS app: https://to.pbs.org/2Jb8twG
Find more from PBS NewsHour at https://www.pbs.org/newshour
Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2HfsCD6

Follow us:
Facebook: http://www.pbs.org/newshour
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/newshour
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/newshour
Snapchat: @pbsnews