Minneapolis City Council votes to replace the police department with a new organization

The council votes to amend the city charter in the wake of George Floyd's death.

June 26, 2020, 3:11 PM

The Minneapolis City Council voted unanimously on Friday to advance its plan to eliminate the police department and create a new public safety unit.

On the heels of the death of George Floyd on May 25, protests have sparked across the country with demands to defund and dismantle police departments.

The caught-on-camera incident showed four former Minneapolis police officers contribute to Floyd's death—specifically, Derek Chauvin pressing his knee onto the back of Floyd's neck for almost eight minutes.

PHOTO: In this June 6, 2020, file photo, demonstrators calling to defund the Minneapolis Police Department march on University Avenue in Minneapolis.
In this June 6, 2020, file photo, demonstrators calling to defund the Minneapolis Police Department march on University Avenue in Minneapolis.
Stephen Maturen/Getty Images, FILE

While Chauvin and the three other officers were fired from the department and charged in connection to Floyd's murder, the Minneapolis City Council has made efforts to change the city's policing policies, including banning chokeholds.

Friday's proposed amendments would update the city's charter to replace the police with a new organization: the Department of Community Safety and Violence Prevention.

PHOTO: In this June 6, 2020, file photo, demonstrators calling to defund the Minneapolis Police Department march on University Avenue in Minneapolis.
In this June 6, 2020, file photo, demonstrators calling to defund the Minneapolis Police Department march on University Avenue in Minneapolis.
Stephen Maturen/Getty Images, FILE

Under that organization there would be a Division of Law Enforcement Services, which will be "composed of licensed peace officers, subject to the supervision of the department of community safety and violence prevention," according to the proposed ordinance.

Council President Lisa Bender said the goal is to change the charter and get it on the ballot for a public vote this November.

If approved by voters, the changes would become effective May 1, 2021.

PHOTO: Former NFL wide receiver Terrell Owens leads a protest march in support of quarterback Colin Kaepernick in Inglewood, Calif., June 11, 2020.
Former NFL wide receiver Terrell Owens leads a protest march in support of quarterback Colin Kaepernick in Inglewood, Calif., June 11, 2020. Protesters are calling on the NFL to apologize for failing to support Kaepernick and calling for a boycott of NFL games and merchandise purchases.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images
PHOTO: People pray together during a Juneteenth event Organized by the One Race Movement at Centennial Olympic Park, on June 19, 2020, in Atlanta.
People pray together during a Juneteenth event Organized by the One Race Movement at Centennial Olympic Park, on June 19, 2020, in Atlanta. Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when a Union general read orders in Galveston, Texas stating all enslaved people in Texas were free according to federal law.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

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