NEW: Elorza Gets Increased Police Protection, While Looking to "Reallocate" Public Safety Funding

NEW: Elorza Gets Increased Police Protection, While Looking to "Reallocate" Public Safety Funding

Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza is receiving increased police detail at his home in Providence — after recently saying he wants to reallocate police resources. 

A small protest of roughly 15 people at Elorza’s home on Sunday evening has now resulted in both marked and unmarked police presence outside his home.

Sources have confirmed the increased policing due to the protest and other security concerns. The Mayor's office declined to comment. 

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Heightened Security

The Mayor already receives a rotating number of police drivers; it is highly unusual for the Providence Mayor to have constant surveillance at home. 

Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo has had round-the-clock police security outside her home while in office, the first for a Governor in Rhode Island. 

Elorza had recently said he is “rethinking” policing in the city, amid pressure from those calling to defund law enforcement. 

Last week, Providence Police voted "no confidence" in Elorza -- and Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare. 

Personal Protection — Defunding Police

Previously, Elorza had refused comment on defunding police, saying he supported the national "#8CantWait" campaign, which the Human Rights Commission called "meaningless."

Last week, he spoke to “reallocating” resources from law enforcement in the city's Fiscal Year 2021 budget. 

Elorza's office  released the following statement on behalf of the Mayor: 

"The activism we have witnessed over the past month has been incredibly powerful and a tremendous example of democracy in action. My office has recently received over 3,000 emails and calls about how we, as city leaders, can rethink the way policing exists in our city. The call for change has been resoundingly clear and it is inspiring to see how it has developed from the grassroots. As we work through this budget process and beyond, we will continue to engage with the community, in particular with Black leaders, to set priorities for reallocating resources and reforming structurally racist systems. 

Removing "plantations" from our city and state documents was just the first step in a long and important process for us. In the path ahead, we will find new ways to invest in the health of our community, realize the racial justice initiatives that will make us a more equitable city, and support our youth so that they can live in a better future.

It has been an emotional month - one full of activism, grieving, pain and rightful anger. But it is clear to me that we are living in an incredible moment, ripe with opportunity for real, structural change that we simply cannot let pass. That means that we must push for this change at the city level to reimagine policing and invest in racial justice initiatives, at the state level by advocating for legislative transformation to allow for the reform needed, and nationally by focusing the conversation on how we, as a country, can do better for our people."