During a meeting on Monday at the White House with mayors and law enforcement officials from major cities, including Newark, President Joe Biden urged local and federal leaders to find a solution to the outbreak of gun violence across the nation this summer.
The president wants to use money from the federal COVID-19 relief fund to hire more police officers and help cities pay overtime. He laid out a strategy for reducing the flow of illegal firearms and investing in more community-based programs. At the meeting was Lt. Anthony Lima, who as head of Newark’s Police Shooting Response Team works closely with the city’s Community Street Team to reduce violence.
