More than a year after George Floyd’s death sparked a failed push to abolish the Minneapolis Police Department, activists & several City Council members are trying again, with a well-funded initiative that would ask voters in November whether the department — disparaged by critics for what they say is an enduring culture of brutality — should be dismantled.
In its place would be a public safety department that employs a “comprehensive public health approach” & licensed peace officers “if necessary.” The new department would no longer be under the sole command of the mayor’s office, which is significant given that incumbent Mayor Jacob Frey opposes abolishing the police department while a majority of City Council members supports the idea.
More than 30 local groups are pushing for change under the “Yes 4 Minneapolis” banner. They gathered 20,000 signatures to get the measure on the ballot — almost twice the number necessary & have raised about $1 million, including $500,000 from Open Society Policy Center, which has ties to billionaire George Soros.
“What we knew as public safety — which is only the police right now, the only option that we have — was unacceptable,” said Brian Fullman, lead organizer with one of the groups, Barbershop and Black Congregation Cooperative. “The murder of George Floyd ignited a lot of historical pain & disrespect that we have been going through & we made the decision that we no longer wanted to have what we have now as the only option for public safety.”
A majority of City Council members first began pushing to eliminate the police department soon after Floyd’s death, but they failed to meet deadlines to get it on the ballot last November. The Rev. JaNaé Bates, a leader of the Yes 4 Minneapolis campaign, said the ease with which the campaign gathered signatures shows the momentum for change is still there more than a year after Floyd’s death.
“The residents of Minneapolis really were the ones who made the call for this, who were like, we can’t just let this lesson that took place in the summer to be something that fizzles out, and then what? We just wait for the next person to be killed by the police?” she said.
All of Mpls — a new group that has raised more than $109,000 — will begin campaigning against the proposal in the coming weeks with door knocking, community events, mailers & digital ads through the fall.
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