Late Sunday, the Minneapolis City Council has announced that they will be abolishing the city's police force and building it from the ground up. The nationwide protests in the wake of George Floyd's death have forced the city's officials to make the crucial decision.
The Council President, Lisa Bender, said they are committed to dismantling the police force of the city of Minneapolis and rebuilding it with the foundations of public safety. The move is meant to ensure the safety of the community, as reported by Straits Times.
Unanimous decision
A veto-proof majority of the council had previously guaranteed they would begin the process of renewing its police force. The move marked the most substantial nationally-aimed police reform proposal, including the cities of New York and Los Angeles.
The council members who voted for the dismantling said they did not have immediate plans for what the police force would be replaced with. Still, they announced they would consult the community of a new structure that properly maintains public safety.
Alondra Cano, a council member, tweeted that a veto-proof majority vote made the decision of the MPLS City Council. They agreed that they are unable to reform the current police department. They will be ending the current policing system that has threatened racial equality.
According to Euro News, community activists have openly criticized the Minneapolis department for years over what they say is a racist and brutal culture that is impervious to change.
Last week, an investigation into violations of human rights was conducted by the state of Minnesota on the Minneapolis Police Department.
According to the city council, the first steps in moving forward came when a stipulated agreement pushed the banning of chokeholds and neck restraints.
Also Read: George Floyd Criminal Record: Minneapolis Police Says He Was Charged With Armed Robbery
Historically, dismantling an entire police department has happened previously in the United States.
New Jersey disbanded its police department in 2012 when the crime was at an all-time high in Camden, where they replaced it with a new police force that included the county of Camden.
Campton, California, took similar steps when it transitioned its policing to Los Angeles County in 2000.
Dismantling the police department
The move to defund or dismantle the Minneapolis Police Force, however, is still not guaranteed as the civil rights investigations will reveal information over several months.
Several activists formed crowds outside Mayor Jacob Frey's residence on Saturday to call for the department's defunding. Frey later came out to try and reason out with the protesters but quickly left after he was jeered for disagreeing with the full abolishment of the Minneapolis Police Department.
Former officer Derek Chauvin, who is responsible for kneeling on George Floyd's neck in the fatal encounter, is set to step foot into court on Monday. Chauvin is charged with second- and third-degree murder as well as second-degree manslaughter.
The three officers who were also on the scene face charges of aiding and abetting the charges filed on Chauvin.
A former New York police sergeant, Joseph Giacalone, said that the incident would serve as a lesson to all law enforcement that if they see something wrong, they need to intervene.
He said that there are several uncertainties in policing, but that Floyd's case was not one of them and added that "you're better off being ostracized by the group than going to prison for murder."
