Texas Gov. Abbott Plans to Sign Bill Which Will Defund Cities that Defund Police

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas has committed to signing a bill that would defund cities that defund the police on Tuesday.

The bill, which would require municipalities that attempt to reduce or reallocate police department funds to hold an election, was passed by the Texas Senate and amended by the House yesterday.

Abbott remarked that the bill would essentially put these cities “out of business,” in an interview with Fox News on “The Faulkner Focus.”

“We’re going to defund the city,” Abbott explained.

He also noted that other cities that have defunded their police including Minneapolis, Portland, Seattle, Chicago, and New York have been a “disaster,” many of which have seen an increase in crime.

“Unfortunately, we had the same thing happen here in the state of Texas… because Austin defunded the police…we wanted to make sure that no other city in the state of Texas would defund police,” he told Fox News.

The conversation was recently prompted by a slow police response time to a shooting in Austin, Texas, a city which has “defunded” the police by slashing the police department budget by about one-third, according to The Texas Tribune.

Austin Police Association President Kenneth Casaday tweeted on Sunday that no police units were “available city wide for 12 minutes” and did not arrive until 16 minutes later, once the victim was critically injured from a shot to the head.

Abbott responded in a tweet: “This is what defunding the police looks like…Texas won’t tolerate this.”

For video of Abbott's comments to Faulkner, watch below: