Minneapolis City Council voted unanimously to remove the mandate for a police department

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Minneapolis City Council members voted unanimously to amend the city's charter Friday to remove the mandate for a police department-- the first step toward disbanding it in the wake of George Floyd's death.

The amendment proposes the city replace the police 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,” a draft of the amendment said.

The proposal adds that 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 suggests setting up a division of licensed peace officers, who would answer to the department's director.

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Barry Clegg, chairman of the Charter Commission, has said the process to implement change so quickly after Floyd's death may not be the best step forward.

“As I understand it, they are saying, ‘We are going to have this new department. We don’t know what it’s going to look like yet. We won’t implement this for a year, we’ll figure it out,’” Clegg said. “For myself anyway, I would prefer that we figured it out first, and then voted on it.”

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