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National money is flowing into the political fight over the future of the Minneapolis Police Department, months before city residents could vote on its future.
In mid-November, the Open Society Policy Center based in Washington, D.C., donated $500,000 to a new political committee, Vote Yes For Minneapolis, that wants to eliminate the city s requirement to have a Police Department. The donation, first reported by the newsletter MPLS take and the Minnesota Reformer, was included in a campaign finance report filed late last month.
Minneapolis politics have drawn unprecedented scrutiny as city leaders and residents debate how to change policing in the wake of George Floyd s death and a dramatic uptick in violent crime.
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Three Minneapolis City Council members introduced a proposal Thursday that would nix the city s police department and replace it with a new Department of Public Safety, while still keeping officers in the city.
The plan proposed by Phillipe Cunningham, Steve Fletcher and Jeremy Schroeder said the new setup would also include additional divisions . to provide for a comprehensive approach to public safety beyond law enforcement.
The council has been pushing for sweeping reforms to the police department after protests rocked Minneapolis for months following the death of George Floyd in late May. Floyd died in police custody after an officer could be seen on video kneeling on his neck for more than 8 minutes while other members of law enforcement stood by without intervening.
One of Minneapolis City Council members has publicly revealed that he and his family are dealing with death threats and violently racist, transphobic, and homophobic harassment over some of his recent policy proposals.
Phillipe Cunningham, who represents the city s 4th Ward, is among the council members leading the charge for police reform following the death of George Floyd.
In a tweet on Friday, he opened up about the harassment he s been receiving as a result, saying the threats came because I am proposing an absolutely reasonable restructuring of a broken public safety system :
He added that I won’t be scared into silence. I stand by my values & focus on good governance.
Minneapolis councillors float new plan for police department
by The Associated Press
Last Updated Jan 28, 2021 at 6:14 pm EDT
MINNEAPOLIS Three Minneapolis City Council members who pledged to dismantle the city’s police department in the wake of George Floyd’s death announced a new proposal Thursday that they say would keep officers in the city but remove a requirement that calls for a minimum number of them.
The plan by Phillipe Cunningham, Steve Fletcher and Jeremy Schroeder calls for the city to replace its police department with a new Department of Public Safety that would include police officers and “additional divisions … to provide for a comprehensive approach to public safety beyond law enforcement.”