"I am challenged today by the decisions that were made on Thursday around the budget for the city of Oakland, particularly for the police department," said Chief Armstrong.
In a 7-to-2 vote, the council diverted nearly $18 million away from the police budget towards other violence prevention programs.
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Oakland's Mayor Libby Schaaf opposed the move, warning Oakland could lose 50 police officer positions during a time when violence is spiking.
"I believe strongly that Mayor Schaaf put forth a budget that was designed to preserve public safety for the entire city -- both law enforcement and violence prevention," said Chief Armstrong.
The chief expressed major concerns about the recent spike in violent crimes.
"We find ourselves in a crisis. We find ourselves reeling from a weekend of violence where we have seen four homicides over a three-day period. It now has us currently at 65 homicides for the year - that's a 90% increase compared to last year," said Chief Armstrong.
RELATED: Oakland votes to redirect millions in police funding to violence prevention programs
The city currently has 714 officers, and the Mayor's office has warned 9-1-1 response times will suffer.
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"We already have a tough time responding to all of the calls that we get, this will make it tougher," said Chief Armstrong.
Supporters say the city needs to heavily invest in other non-police programs, like the department of violence prevention.
VIDEO: Oakland police chief speaks on budget cuts, spike in violent crime
Oakland police chief speaks on budget cuts, spike in violent crime