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Some Minneapolis City Council members on Monday questioned the city s plan to bring in thousands of soldiers and police officers for former officer Derek Chauvin s trial, saying it could inflame tensions in a traumatized community. I have been a little bit disappointed with the heavy city and police-only focus of this plan up until today, Council Member Jeremiah Ellison said, adding: I feel like I haven t really heard . a plan that affirms the kind of trauma that happened this past summer, and not just from the four officers who killed George Floyd but from the response that happened afterward.
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The Minneapolis Charter Commission, which blocked a ballot question that could have replaced the police department, is now considering restricting the City Council s influence over the day-to-day operations of city departments.
Charter Commissioner Greg Abbott, who is helping lead the efforts to re-examine city government, said debates about the future of the Minneapolis Police Department and who should control it reinvigorated a longstanding discussion about how to share power and responsibilities in the city. It s a decadeslong problem with the Minneapolis City Charter, Abbott said in a public meeting this week. The charter we have was not designed by someone to operate in this way.
Minneapolis makes big bet on violence prevention effort to stem crime surge With money diverted from police, city agency faces pressure to ramp up quickly, help stem crime surge. January 23, 2021 6:10pm Text size Copy shortlink:
Facing twin demands to curb police brutality and turn back a surge in violent crime, Minneapolis leaders have tripled the budget of a low profile city agency that treats violence as a public health crisis.
Now the Office of Violence Prevention faces its largest test since its founding in 2018. Its success will depend partly on its ability to work with the Minneapolis Police Department, whose budget was trimmed so more money could be spent on unarmed city workers who intervene in conflicts and help crime victims.
Democrats ditch defund the police slogan, but not necessarily policy principles Print this article
With the 2020 campaign season over, the message is clear from the upper echelons of the Democratic Party: “Defund the police” is not the message that they want to communicate to voters.
Former President Barack Obama warned in an interview earlier this month that you lost a big audience the minute you say it.” President-elect Joe Biden in a private meeting last week, according to audio obtained by the
Intercept, said, “That’s how they beat the living hell out of us across the country, saying that we’re talking about defunding the police.”