FLASHBACK: Kamala believes US can ‘get to a point’ where ‘law enforcement response’ not needed because ‘communities’ are safe

In June 2019, then-Sen. Harris (D-CA) attended the Poor People’s Campaign Forum looking for support for her fledgling presidential campaign and was asked about demilitarizing the police force. She responded, "I have a long-standing record saying we need to demilitarize police."

She added, "And, you know, and we really need to get to a point where communities, frankly, don't need a law enforcement response to what's happening in their communities because they are safe communities."

Harris has previously praised the “defund the police” movement, which advocates for taking funds away from law enforcement and directing them to other community resources.

During the 2019 Poor People’s Campaign Forum she added, “And how do you achieve safe communities? One of the smartest ways to do that is to help communities have resources so that people can have jobs and can have the kind of support that they need.”

Additionally, during the 2020 BLM riots, Harris showed little support for law and order when she helped to raise money to bail out violent protesters. Her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), was slow to call in the National Guard while rioters tried to burn down Minneapolis. Her record as DA for San Francisco and attorney general of California has been criticized by both the right and the left.

Harris’ 2019 remarks clashed with her previous support of police in San Francisco and Sacramento.

“A more visible and strategic police presence is a deterrent to crime, and it has a positive impact on a community,” she had once written, the Daily Mail noted. However, in more recent years she moved further to the left on policing.

“We have to reimagine public safety in America,” Harris said in a 2020 interview with Power 106 Los Angeles host Nick Cannon. “It’s been upside down, for too long, people have confused achieving public safety with putting more cops on the street.”