The Minneapolis Charter Council on Wednesday blocked the controversial ballot proposal to disband the police.
In a 10-5 vote, the city’s Charter Council opted to take an extra 90 days to review the proposal. This means that voters will not have the opportunity to vote on the proposal in November. In an online meeting, the Charter Commission members complained that the new measure was vague, might run afoul of state law, and put the council in charge of the proposed department, according to Forbes.
The proposal sought to replace the city’s existing law enforcement with a Department of Community Safety and Violence Prevention, Fox News reports.
The ballot proposal called for a restart to law enforcement in Minneapolis with the new department taking a “holistic, public health-oriented approach” to public safety services. It is unclear what such an approach would look like, or even if a division of police would be maintained at all.
The proposal stated that the Council could have a division of law enforcement services, but does it is not required.
It is unclear if or when Minneapolis voters will get a chance to vote on the proposal.
This proposal came after weeks of rioting sparked by George Floyd’s death. In recent months, a movement to defund and disband police departments has spread across the nation.
Several major cities are moving forward with their proposals to defund their police departments. The Seattle City Council has pledged to cut it’s police force’s budget by 50%, according to King 5, an NBC affiliate. Also, the New York Police Department will lose around a billion dollars in funding for its 2021 budget, reports USA Today.
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Ben Kolodny is a reporter at The Ohio Star and the Star News Network. You can follow Ben on Twitter. Tips can be sent to [email protected].
Photo “Minneapolis Police Officer” by Tony Webster. CC BY 2.0.
“Home invasion in progress? Okay don’t worry sir, we’re sending in a squad of elite liberal social workers armed with teddy bears & lollipops.”
How does “re-imagining” law enforcement look now?