Minneapolis City Council Votes To Replace The Police Department With Community-Led Public Safety System

The Minneapolis City Council has unanimously passed a revolution to create a “new model” of policing in the city. A community-led public safety system to replace the police department following the death of George Floyd at the hands of the city’s police.

“We acknowledge that the current system is not reformable, that we would like to end the current policing system as we know it,” council member Alondra Cano said. All 12 City Council members are listed as co-authors. The move comes days after council members announced their intent to disband the city’s police force in favor of a different model. The resolution “describes the history of police violence and use of excessive force in our community,” council President Lisa Bender said.

“It talks about the financial liability we’ve experienced and related to those use of force.”

According to the resolution, the city council will begin the year-long process of “engaging with every willing community member in Minneapolis to come up with a new public safety model. The workgroup has until July 24th to give the council recommendations for engaging with the experts and community members that can help come up with the plan.

“The City Council will engage with every willing community member in Minneapolis, centering the voices of black people, American Indian people, people of color, immigrants, victims of harm, and other stakeholders who have been historically marginalized or under-served by our present system,” the resolution reads. “Together, we will identify what safety looks like for everyone.”