don't lie, you didn't actually read the article, you just read the headline and made wild assumptions

how would this empower criminals?
Are you one of those types who think the world works like a disney movie where there are just good guys vs bad guys? The real world doesn't work like that. People typically don't commit crime because they are evil, its due to their environment. Police don't prevent crime, they just throw people in jail after a crime is committed. "defund police" is about solving the issues that cause people to commit crime in the first place and stopping the issues that policing and throwing people in jail causes. Which do you think harms someone more? Smoking cannabis or getting thrown in jail for smoking it, causing you to possibly lose your job and have a harder time finding future employment? How did the police help the community by throwing tear gas into a peaceful crowd?
When the police cause more problems than the solve, their existence is going to be put into question.