‘I’m Not In The Least Bit for Defunding the Police’: Morgan Freeman Speaks On New Film ‘The Killing Of Kenneth Chamberlain’

Actor Morgan Freeman said that he is not for defunding the police. Morgan shared his opinion on the matter while speaking about his new film, “The Killing Of Kenneth Chamberlain.”

The film is based on the true story of a Black veteran who suffered from bipolar disorder. The 68-year-old was murdered by the police in his own White Plains, New York, home in 2011 during a welfare check after his LifeAlert accidentally went off. The officers involved were not disciplined.

Morgan Freeman speaks onstage during the 51st NAACP Image Awards, Presented by BET, at Pasadena Civic Auditorium on February 22, 2020 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images for BET)

Freeman acts in the film and is also a producer. Actor Frankie Faison stars in the film as Kenneth Chamberlain. Both men said that police reform needed to happen and that police officers need to be retrained.

When asked if the men were for defunding the police, both men said that they were not. Freeman said that he was against defunding the police because the police are necessary.

“I’m not in the least bit for defunding the police,” said Freeman. “Police work is, aside from all the negativity around it, it is very necessary for us to have them, and most of them are guys that are doing their job. They’re going about their day-to-day jobs. There are some police that never pull their guns except on the range, that sort of thing. I don’t know.”

Freeman is not alone in this thinking. Other people have questioned the term “defund the police” as the answer to stop the police killings of Black people. Former president Barack Obama also spoke on the matter.

“….That if we describe that to not just white folks but, let’s say, Michelle [Obama’s] mom, that makes sense to them,” he continued. “But if we say ‘defund the police,’ not just white folks but Michelle’s mom might say, ‘If I’m getting robbed, who am I gonna call, and is somebody gonna show up?’”

He continued. “The issue, to me, is not making them comfortable. It is, can we be precise with our language enough that people who might be persuaded around that particular issue to make a particular change that gets a particular result that we want. … What’s the best way for us to describe that?”

“The Killing Of Kenneth Chamberlain” is available in select theaters and streaming services Amazon Prime, AppleTV, YouTube and Google Play.

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