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A28 u.s. news
Diahuebs 10 December 2020

Minneapolis eyes deep police cuts after Floyd's death

(AP) — Minneapolis City “Combined those invest-
Council members who ments add up to a safer city
tried unsuccessfully to for everybody and an ap-
dismantle the police de- proach that creates a more
partment in response sustainable public safety sys-
to George Floyd's death tem for our city,” Fletcher
are voting Wednesday on said in an interview.
whether to shrink it, a On the other side are those
move that could imperil like Frey and Police Chief
the entire city budget be- Medaria Arradondo who
cause the mayor is threat- say there’s no need for an
ening to use his veto to either-or decision — that it’s
protect public safety amid possible to reform policing
soaring crime rates. without cutting officers. The
mayor and 12 of the 13 coun-
The plan, which supporters cil members are Democrats;
call “Safety for All,” is the lat- one council member is from
est version of the “defund the the Green Party.
police” movement that Min- If the council approves the
neapolis and other cities have plan Wednesday night, Frey
considered since Floyd’s May would have five days to veto
25 death ignited mass dem- if he chooses. The council
onstrations against police could override him with a
brutality and a nationwide fort to provide new solutions same period in 2019. ment is already down by two-thirds majority, or nine
reckoning with racism. for problems traditionally “This summer happened about 120 — partly due to council members, but it’s
Eleven of the 13 council handled by police. Such cuts because George Floyd was officers claiming post-trau- not clear whether those nine
members have already cast have led some departments murdered by the Minneapo- matic stress disorder from votes exist. The proposal to
committee votes in favor of to lay off officers, cancel re- lis Police Department and it a summer of unrest — with cap the number of officers
the largest parts of the plan, cruiting classes or retreat wasn't an accident, it's be- more preparing to leave amid passed with just 7 of 13 votes
signaling that passage is like- from hiring goals. cause the system of policing retirements and poor morale. in committee Monday.
ly. It would cut nearly $8 mil- In Minneapolis, violent we know now is not just rac- Passions ran hot on both A proposal over the summer
lion from Mayor Jacob Frey’s crime rates have surged since ist, but it doesn't create safety sides as more than 400 citi- to dismantle the department
$179 million policing bud- the death of Floyd, a Black for all,” said Oluchi Omeoga, zens signed up to speak dur- and replace it with a “Depart-
get and redirect it to mental man who was handcuffed a cofounder of Black Visions, ing a marathon hearing last ment of Community Safety
health teams, violence pre- and pleading for air for sev- which supports “Safety for week that ran into the early and Violence Prevention”
vention programs and other eral minutes while Derek All” as a step toward more hours Thursday, with many initially had support from a
initiatives. Chauvin, a white former of- transformational change. expressing alarm that the majority of the council but
“I am actively considering a ficer, pressed his knee against Due to austerity forced by council was even contem- faltered when a separate city
veto due to the massive, per- his neck. Chauvin and three the coronavirus pandemic, plating cuts. commission voted against
manent cut to officer capac- others were charged in the mayor’s proposal already “I think we need to make bold putting it on the Novem-
ity," Frey said in a statement Floyd’s death and are expect- bakes in a $14 million cut to decisions on a path forward,” ber ballot. The city was pay-
Monday night. Reducing the ed to stand trial in March. the department compared said Council Member Steve ing $4,500 a day at one point
authorized size of the force Police have recorded 532 with its original 2020 bud- Fletcher, a coauthor of the for private security for three
by 138 officers before enact- gunshot victims this year as get, mostly through attrition. proposal. While acknowledg- council members who re-
ing alternatives is ”irrespon- of last Thursday, more than Frey aims to hold the num- ing that it would mean fewer ported getting threats after
sible,” he said. double the same period a year ber of sworn officers around officers, he defended the plan supporting defunding.
Cities around the U.S., in- ago. Carjackings have also 770 through 2021 with hopes by saying it would reduce the Bill Rodriguez of Minne-
cluding Los Angeles, New spiked to 375 so far this year, of eventually increasing the department’s workload by apolis, part of a community
York City and Portland, Or- up 331% from the same pe- force to its current autho- shifting 911 calls away from group called Safety Now
egon, are shifting funds from riod last year. Violent crimes rized cap of 888. “Safety for armed officers to other spe- Minneapolis that formed re-
police departments to social have topped 5,100, compared All” would cap the number cialists such as mental health cently in response to rising
services programs in an ef- with just over 4,000 for the at 750 by 2022. The depart- professionals. crime, said his group sup-
ports police reform by fund-
ing many of the programs the
council wants to fund: ex-
panding violence prevention
programs, programs aimed at
intervening safely with peo-
ple suffering mental health
issues and finding ways to re-
spond to some 911 incidents
without police officers.
But he said cutting police of-
ficers is a bad idea and was
sharply critical of council
members who he said “can’t
get beyond” their vow this
summer to abolish or defund
police.
“They are hell-bent on their
agenda,” Rodriguez said. “Ev-
erything they do has that taste
on it. ... They’re still mak-
ing this up as they go along.
We’ve got a City Council be-
ing run by a bunch of inex-
perienced activists who have
never run anything in their
lives.”