Minneapolis City Council 12-0 Vote to Abolish Police Department After Death of George Floyd

The move makes the city of Minneapolis the first major U.S. metropolitan area to officially move to disband its police department.

This social experiment will endanger innocent civilians, experts warn.

Many fear that the move will encourage other cities to follow suit, even before the consequences fully play out.

NPR confirms the unanimous decision by the Minneapolis city council:

The Minneapolis City Council on Friday unanimously approved a proposal to eliminate the city's police department, marking the first step toward establishing a new "holistic" approach to public safety.

The move follows more than a month of national outrage and protests against police brutality in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, a Black man who died after an officer pressed his knee into his neck for more than eight minutes.

The police department, which is largely white and has long struggled to adequately reflect the racial makeup of the city, has come under even greater scrutiny as public cries to defund the department have gained traction among elected officials.

"Young Black and brown people in the streets made this happen. Black organizers demanding abolition for generations made this happen," said Miski Noor of Black Visions Collective in a statement.

"Now, on this new terrain, Minneapolis can start practicing a new vision of safety that defends Black lives," Noor said.

While she was critical of the shortcomings of the amendment passed Friday, Noor added, "we are closer than any time in history, and anywhere else in the country, to a safe, thriving city without police."

Under the proposed plan, the city would eliminate the existing police department and replace it with "a department of community safety and violence prevention, which will have responsibility for public safety services prioritizing a holistic, public health-oriented approach."

The department would be overseen by a director, nominated by the mayor and approved by the city council. Only individuals with "non-law enforcement experience in community safety services, including but not limited to public health and/or restorative justice approaches," will be eligible to hold the post, according to the amendment.

Will tourists want to visit Minneapolis after the police force is abolished?

Will gangs view it as fresh grounds for new recruits?

There are many dangers to this social experiment, observers warn.

What's particularly alarming about this is that it was a unanimous decision.

While calls to "defund the police" have gained steam across the nation, they've been largely viewed as far-left demands.

The fact that the Minneapolis city council unanimously voted to move forward with the proposal has alienated many independent and right-leaning voters.

The Daily Mail reports that the police would be replaced with a "department of community safety and violence prevention."

Fortunately, the unanimous city council vote doesn't mean that the police department will be definitely defunded.

The people will have a chance to vote on it in November, the Daily Mail confirms:

The Minneapolis City Council on Friday unanimously approved a proposal to change the city charter to allow the police department to be dismantled, following mass public criticism of law enforcement over the killing of George Floyd.

The 12-0 vote is just the first step in a process that faces significant bureaucratic obstacles to make the November ballot, where the city's voters would have the final say.

And it came amid a spate of recent shootings in Minnesota's largest city that have heightened many citizens´ concerns about talk of dismantling the department.

The proposed amendment next goes to a policy committee and to the city's Charter Commission for a formal review, at which point citizens and city officials can also weigh in.

'I hope that the Charter Commission will recognize the moment that we are in and take our offer of support, however we can provide it, to expedite this process so that voters have a chance to have their voices heard on this important question and this important moment in our city´s history,' Council President Lisa Bender said.

The Minneapolis force has come under heavy pressure since Floyd, a black man in handcuffs, died May 25 after a police officer pressed his knee on his neck for nearly eight minutes.

Activists have long accused the department of being unable to change a racist and brutal culture, and earlier this month, a majority of the council proclaimed support for dismantling the department.

Jeremiah Ellison, a member of the council and the son of state Attorney General Keith Ellison, said after the vote that the charter has been a barrier to the kinds of changes that citizens have demanded.

Keith Ellison's office is handling the prosecution of the four police officers charged in Floyd's death.

Activists had long accused the department of being unable to change a racist and brutal culture, and earlier this month, a majority of the council proclaimed support for dismantling the department.

Doing so would first require amending the city charter.

Draft language of the amendment posted online would replace the department with a Department of Community Safety and Violence Prevention, 'which will have responsibility for public safety services prioritizing a holistic, public health-oriented approach.'

The amendment goes on to say the director of the new agency would have 'non-law-enforcement experience in community safety services, including but not limited to public health and/or restorative justice approaches.'

It also provides for a division of licensed peace officers, who would answer to the department's director.

Council members who support the change are looking to seize on a groundswell of support for significant policing changes following Floyd's death.

If they don't get the charter change on the November ballot, their next chance won't come until November 2021, they say.

Rather than reforming the current systems which exist to protect ALL Americans, radical leftists appear hellbent on totally dismantling our way of life.

This November, we have a clear choice between President Trump, who stands firmly behind law and order....

And Sleepy Joe, who could easily be a puppet for the radical left.

Now is not the time to defund the police.

It's time to DEFEND the police.