Majority of Minneapolis city council would replace existing police department with new system

Variety - Minneapolis City Council members have a vowed to disband the police department in the wake George Floyd’s death and nationwide protests. According to the “New York Times,” nine members of the city council announced their support for disbanding the local Minneapolis Police Department police department and replace the office with what is being described as a “new model of public safety.”

.... In an essay published by TIME, council member Steve Fletcher agreed that the Police Department should be disbanded and explained some of the measures that have already been taken.

“We had already pushed for pilot programs to dispatch county mental health professionals to mental health calls, and fire department EMTs to opioid overdose calls, without police officers. We have similarly experimented with unarmed, community-oriented street teams on weekend nights downtown to focus on de-escalation. We could similarly turn traffic enforcement over to cameras and, potentially, our parking enforcement staff, rather than our police department,” he wrote. “Our city needs a public safety capacity that doesn’t fear our residents. That doesn’t need a gun at a community meeting. That considers itself part of our community. That doesn’t resort quickly to pepper spray when people are understandably angry. That doesn’t murder Black people.”

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey was booed out of a protest on Saturday after he opposed defunding the police. A crowd of demonstrators chanted “Go home, Jacob” and “Shame” at him.