MINNEAPOLIS CITY COUNCIL VOTES TO DEFUND MILLIONS FROM POLICE BUDGET
The Minneapolis City Council has voted to defund more than $7 million of the city’s police budget to other social service programs in the city.
by Derek Major December 10, 2020
Image: Twitter/@MinneapolisPD
Minneapolis’ 2021 budget will redirect $7.7 million from the Minneapolis Police Department and will go toward “preventing violence and building community well-being,” Council Member Steve Fletcher told CNN.
The funds will be used for mental health programs and the Civil Rights Department’s Office of Police Conduct Review to investigate police complaints.
The death of George Floyd in May, shined a light on policing in the city and directly led to the Black Lives Matter resurgence last summer as protests took place for several months. Nine members of the city council initially pledged to defund and dismantle the entire police department but that was met with stiff resistance.
The Minneapolis City Council originally wanted to cut the number of officers in the city from 888 currently to 750 beginning in 2022. However, on Dec. 7, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said he would veto a decline in the number of officers in the city calling the move “irresponsible.’
Other cities and states have also made deep cuts to police budgets in response to the Black Lives Matter movement over the summer. Seattle’s City Council passed a $3.5 million cut to the police budget and a downsizing of 100 officers. Los Angeles approved a $150 million budget cut from its police department, San Francisco approved a $120 million cut from its police and Oakland cut $14.6 million from its law enforcement budget.
Even the nation’s capital approved a $15 million cut from its police budget earlier this summer. Other cities that have cut their department budgets include Baltimore; Portland, Oregon, Philadelphia, Hartford, Conn. Norman, Oklahoma and Salt Lake City.
Most cities that have cut their police budgets have reallocated the money to social service programs. Those include drug addiction and prevention and homelessness.
A hearing on the police budget cuts led to more than 300 residents signing up and expressing their feelings and the hearing lasted more than five hours according to CBS Minnesota.
An activist calls for the abolishing of police departments at a protest opposing the the killing of George Floyd, in downtown Los Angeles, Calif., on May 29. Floyd's death spurred calls nationwide for substantial police reforms. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo
Dec. 10 (UPI) -- The Minneapolis City Council on Thursday approved shifting nearly $8 million away from the city's police department, but declined to reduce the size of the force, in its first budget since the death of George Floyd became a flashpoint for reform six months ago.
The council voted 7-6 to cut $7.7 million from the police budget proposal submitted by Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, reducing its total funding to $172 million. The reallocated funds, instead, will be spent on violence prevention and efforts to create a mental health crisis response team.
But in a late turnaround, the council opted to reject a proposal that would have reduced the Minneapolis Police Department to 750 officers, starting in 2022.
Frey had sought to keep a target level of 888 officers and threatened to veto the budget if cuts to police staff were approved.
The council's vote early Thursday followed hours of emotional testimony on Wednesday from Minneapolis residents and political leaders, who debated how the city should respond to widespread calls for police reform after the death of Floyd -- a Black man who was killed by white Minneapolis police officers on May 25.
Video of Floyd's arrest and death, caused by one officer pressing his knee down on Floyd's neck for close to 10 minutes, fueled outrage and led to demonstrations nationwide that called for immediate and substantial reforms.
In Minneapolis alone, hundreds of businesses were damaged during the protests at an estimated cost of $500 million.
"I urge you to fund profound change in how we run our city and care for each other," one resident said during the virtual hearing. "Put money where your mouth is.
"If you [council members] can't commit to funding real solutions to the many crises Minneapolis faces, why are you even representing us?"
The decision to retain current police staffing levels was a defeat for Council President Lisa Bender, who had promised to "end our city's toxic relationship with the Minneapolis Police Department."
However, she lauded the decision to shift funding from the police force to violence prevention.
"The budget makes important investments in affordable housing, health and economic recovery," she tweeted.
"My colleagues were right to leave the targeted staffing level unchanged ... and continue moving forward with our shared priorities," Frey said in a statement.
Image: Twitter/@MinneapolisPD
Minneapolis’ 2021 budget will redirect $7.7 million from the Minneapolis Police Department and will go toward “preventing violence and building community well-being,” Council Member Steve Fletcher told CNN.
The funds will be used for mental health programs and the Civil Rights Department’s Office of Police Conduct Review to investigate police complaints.
The death of George Floyd in May, shined a light on policing in the city and directly led to the Black Lives Matter resurgence last summer as protests took place for several months. Nine members of the city council initially pledged to defund and dismantle the entire police department but that was met with stiff resistance.
The Minneapolis City Council originally wanted to cut the number of officers in the city from 888 currently to 750 beginning in 2022. However, on Dec. 7, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said he would veto a decline in the number of officers in the city calling the move “irresponsible.’
Other cities and states have also made deep cuts to police budgets in response to the Black Lives Matter movement over the summer. Seattle’s City Council passed a $3.5 million cut to the police budget and a downsizing of 100 officers. Los Angeles approved a $150 million budget cut from its police department, San Francisco approved a $120 million cut from its police and Oakland cut $14.6 million from its law enforcement budget.
Even the nation’s capital approved a $15 million cut from its police budget earlier this summer. Other cities that have cut their department budgets include Baltimore; Portland, Oregon, Philadelphia, Hartford, Conn. Norman, Oklahoma and Salt Lake City.
Most cities that have cut their police budgets have reallocated the money to social service programs. Those include drug addiction and prevention and homelessness.
A hearing on the police budget cuts led to more than 300 residents signing up and expressing their feelings and the hearing lasted more than five hours according to CBS Minnesota.
Minneapolis council shifts $8M away from police, but declines to reduce force
Dec. 10 (UPI) -- The Minneapolis City Council on Thursday approved shifting nearly $8 million away from the city's police department, but declined to reduce the size of the force, in its first budget since the death of George Floyd became a flashpoint for reform six months ago.
The council voted 7-6 to cut $7.7 million from the police budget proposal submitted by Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, reducing its total funding to $172 million. The reallocated funds, instead, will be spent on violence prevention and efforts to create a mental health crisis response team.
But in a late turnaround, the council opted to reject a proposal that would have reduced the Minneapolis Police Department to 750 officers, starting in 2022.
Frey had sought to keep a target level of 888 officers and threatened to veto the budget if cuts to police staff were approved.
The council's vote early Thursday followed hours of emotional testimony on Wednesday from Minneapolis residents and political leaders, who debated how the city should respond to widespread calls for police reform after the death of Floyd -- a Black man who was killed by white Minneapolis police officers on May 25.
Video of Floyd's arrest and death, caused by one officer pressing his knee down on Floyd's neck for close to 10 minutes, fueled outrage and led to demonstrations nationwide that called for immediate and substantial reforms.
In Minneapolis alone, hundreds of businesses were damaged during the protests at an estimated cost of $500 million.
"I urge you to fund profound change in how we run our city and care for each other," one resident said during the virtual hearing. "Put money where your mouth is.
"If you [council members] can't commit to funding real solutions to the many crises Minneapolis faces, why are you even representing us?"
The decision to retain current police staffing levels was a defeat for Council President Lisa Bender, who had promised to "end our city's toxic relationship with the Minneapolis Police Department."
However, she lauded the decision to shift funding from the police force to violence prevention.
"The budget makes important investments in affordable housing, health and economic recovery," she tweeted.
"My colleagues were right to leave the targeted staffing level unchanged ... and continue moving forward with our shared priorities," Frey said in a statement.
