The Minneapolis City Council unanimously voted to pass a resolution to disband the police force in favor of “community-led public safety system” following the death of George Floyd in police custody.
Following ample controversy and days worth of rioting, sparking an international Black Lives Matter movement, the City Council passed a majority to dissolve the police department due to the response to the death of Floyd.
BREAKING: Minneapolis City Council unanimously passes resolution to replace police department with a “community-led public safety system” – Reuters
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) June 12, 2020
A movement to defund the police gained immense traction following the death of George Floyd after a Minneapolis Police Officer, Derek Chauvin, knelt on the suspect’s neck for nearly nine minutes.
The council has outsourced guidance and assistance on how service to the community is to be delivered, with a deadline for July 24.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D) has signaled his intent to launch a “massive structural reform to revise a structurally racist system,” within the police department.
On the unanimously passed resolution, five council members wrote: “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.”
The decision to disband the police has been met with criticism and naysayers pointing to the formation of an autonomous zone in Seattle after the police were pressured into abandoning a local precinct.
“All good until there’s a 300% crime spike. Soy boys riding unicorns do not make a police force,” one person tweeted, referring to CHAZ–Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone–where reports of violent crime and rape have more than tripled since the left-anarchist group took over.
All good untill there’s a 300% crime spike. Soy boys riding unicorns do not make a police force.
— RS (@rsmoke3) June 12, 2020
Talking about the spike in crime within the autonomous zone, police were unable to deal with the reports.
Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best said: “Our calls for service have more than tripled. These are responses to emergency calls: rapes, robberies, and all sorts of violent acts have been occurring in the area that we’re not able to get to.”
