TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – Cities nationwide are eyeing cuts to police departments amid calls for elected leaders to defund or disband their police departments.
But this push to “defund police” hasn’t necessarily sat well with truck drivers on the front line of a global pandemic and protests.
A new poll suggests that three out of four truck drivers would fear for their personal safety if police departments were disbanded or defunded.
CDL News, a website for the commercial trucking industry, asked drivers if they would deliver to cities with defunded or disbanded police departments.
The website said that 79% of over 1,283 respondents said they would refuse loads to such cities.
Truck driving is among the deadliest jobs in the United States with 966 drivers killed on the job last year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
As America grapples with the coronavirus pandemic, truck drivers have been risking their lives to keep products moving to stores, hospitals and elsewhere.
“I will not deliver to an area with a disbanded police department. My life matter and I do this for my family. We are already at the mercy of these towns and cities with laws and hate against us for parking, getting a meal or even using a restroom,” one respondent told CDL News.
“For my own safety and security of my customers’ loads, I have already informed my dispatcher that I will refuse all loads to cities that have defunded their police departments,” another said.
Nine members of the Minneapolis City Council on Sunday announced they intend to defund and dismantle the city’s police department. Other cities, such as New York and Los Angeles have moved funds for police to other resources such as social and youth programs.
LATEST HEADLINES: