Newark Residents Refuse To Pay For Whitney Houston’s Funeral

The live-streamed funeral for Whitney Houston has angered several residents from the singer’s hometown, Newark, New Jersey. Newark authorities staffed 200 police officers to work overtime in efforts to support the media and fan frenzy that was to come due to Houston’s funeral.

The officers stood duty at New Baptist Church, the funeral home and at a private gathering for friends and family at Whitney’s childhood church. In addition, barricades had to be set up to hold back the thousands of onlookers who surrounded the church. All in all, the funeral costed the city $187,000 in police overtime and other costs. This took up about 5 percent of the department’s $4 million annual budget… and Newark residents are the ones who have to pay for the expenses through their taxes. As a result, many Newark residents are wondering why they have to pay for the excessive police protection when they were not allowed to attend the ceremony at New Baptist Church. They believe that the Houston family should have to pay for the overtime of the authorities. Newark resident, Quincy Ruffin, said,

[the Hollywood Reporter , Monsters and Critics]

–India Renee