Following the killing of George Floyd by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis City Council has pledged to begin the process of dismantling the city's police department.
Breaking News: A veto-proof majority of the Minneapolis City Council pledged to dismantle the city’s Police Departm… https://t.co/J4Ibbh3U3o— The New York Times (@The New York Times) 1591568351.0
The protests over Floyd's death have largely focused on police reform. Many protestors believe the only way to truly reform the police is to defund them and dismantle the system entirely.
While Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey opposes plans to defund the city's police, he has said he supports "...more community-led public safety strategies on behalf of our city."
According to NBC News, council members believe that their previous efforts to reform the police have failed, that the police are not protecting citizens of Minneapolis, and that the relationship between the city and the police is "toxic."
Minneapolis moving forward with the process of dismantling the police in their "present iteration" is one major step in the fight against systemic racism is some of America's most prominent national institutions.
Although it is a process, as council members have pointed out, it will be interesting to see how the community, officers, and others respond to this step forward.
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