In what may be the most remarkable turn of the social uprising taking place across the United States, the Minneapolis City Council has voted unanimously to defund the city's police department and have it replaced with a community-led public safety system. While the Minneapolis Mayor, Jacob Frey, has rejected calls for the defunding to take place, he has also stated that he supports a “massive structural reform to revise a structurally racist system."
The city council also accepted that George Floyd's death was the result of a 'murder'. 4 officers are currently awaiting trial on a number of charges related to his killing.
A statement from the five council members stated as to why they supported the move:
"The murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, by Minneapolis police officers is a tragedy that shows that no amount of reforms will prevent lethal violence and abuse by some members of the Police Department against members of our community, especially Black people and people of color."
What the actual nature of this defunding involves is not yet clear. It could mean completely abolishing the police department which would then raise the question as to who would deal with criminal activity. Minneapolis City Council have said that there will still be individuals who respond to violent crimes but that community led programs will take precedent. Thus meaning that a greater focus will be put on public safety, mental health issues and community cooperation.
Black Lives Matter leader Alicia Garza echoed this position in an interview with NBC when she said:
"When we talk about defunding the police, what we 're saying is 'invest in the resources that our communities need.'"
While community organiser Mariame Kaba went further and demanded the eventual abolition of a police department in an op-ed for The New York Times:
"Don't get me wrong. We are not abandoning our communities to violence. We don't want to just close police departments. We want to make them unnecessary … We should redirect the billions that now go to police departments toward providing health care, housing, education and good jobs. If we did this, there would be less need for the police in the first place."
"We can build other ways of responding to harms in our society. Trained 'community care workers' could do mental-health checks if someone needs help. Towns could use restorative-justice models instead of throwing people in prison."
While the details have yet to be seen, Donald Trump has delighted in the moves by the Democrat led council, as it now provides him the chance to claim that the Democratic Party will not keep law abiding citizens safe. He is likely to run as a strong 'law and order' candidate ahead of the November presidential elections.
He tweeted his disapproval:
Sleepy Joe Biden and the Radical Left Democrats want to “DEFUND THE POLICE”. I want great and well paid LAW ENFORCEMENT. I want LAW & ORDER!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 7, 2020
We await to see what Minneapolis City Council enact the policy and whether more positive outcomes may be achieved via the defunding.
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