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Incoming New York City Comptroller Brad Lander will have an NYPD security detail even though he advocates defunding the police, according to a report.
After demonstrations erupted across the county over the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis cop, Lander penned an open letter to his constituents in June 2020, titled, "My commitment to defund the NYPD," the New York Post reported. The memo called for slashing the department's budget by $1 billion.
Brad Lander speaks during an interview in New York Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021. Lander is a progressive politician and has been described as "one of the most left-leaning politicians in the city" by Politico. Photographer: Christopher Goodney/Bloomberg via Getty Images (Christopher Goodney/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Lander praised Minneapolis after its City Council voted to replace the police department with the "Department of Public Safety." Voters later defeated the controversial proposal.
Lander, an outgoing Brooklyn Democratic councilman, said in June that he was disturbed that the city's annual spending bill increased the NYPD budget by nearly $200 million and expanded the number of cops and corrections officers.
"All neighborhoods need and deserve to be safe, and we must confront rising levels of gun violence," he said, according to the local paper. "But NYC already has more police officers per capita than nearly every large American city."
He added that the funding should be directed toward social services.
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 24: New York City mayoral candidate Eric Adams and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams attend a Democratic Party "Get Out the Vote" rally nine days before New York City elections on October 24, 2021 in the Upper West Side neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. (Photo by Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)" (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
Lander isn't the only "Defund the NYPD" politician who enjoys a police security detail. Public advocate Jumaane Williams, a fellow Brooklyn Democrat, has police security and lives on an Army base – the safest neighborhood in the city.
A spokesman for Landers defended the security detail he'll have when he begins his term as Comptroller.
"There’s no contradiction between believing that some of our public safety dollars would be better spent on supportive housing, mental health services, and restorative justice programs — and following longstanding NYPD protocol regarding safety for elected officials," spokesman Naomi Dann told the newspaper.
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Dann declined to comment to Fox News.
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