I agree that they can deescalate when they want to. However, the way I understand the defund the police idea was to defund and eventually get their needed funds

I agree that they can deescalate when they want to. However, the way I understand the defund the police idea was to defund and eventually get their needed funds back with lots of reform. The prospect of funds does change things quite a bit. Always! At this point they're overfunded so no carrot to get them to move forward.