Minneapolis City Council Members Plan To Disband Police Department

A veto-proof majority of the Minneapolis City Council commits to disbanding the police department.

BYCole Blake
Al Bello/Getty Images

The Minneapolis City Council is reportedly moving to disband the city's police department, a majority of members announced, Sunday.

Al Bello / Getty Images

“We’re here because we hear you. We are here today because George Floyd was killed by the Minneapolis Police. We are here because here in Minneapolis and in cities across the United States it is clear that our existing system of policing and public safety is not keeping our communities safe,” Minneapolis City Council President Lisa Bender said Sunday. “Our efforts at incremental reform have failed. Period.”

Council Member Jeremiah Ellison announced his commitment earlier this week on Twitter: "We are going to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department. And when we’re done, we’re not simply gonna glue it back together. We are going to dramatically rethink how we approach public safety and emergency response.

"It’s really past due," he added.

Council Member Steve Fletcher penned an essay for TIME, in which he stated his call to disband the police.

"Now is the time for us to put all of these ideas into practice, and we know that community members have a lot more. The whole world is watching. We can declare policing as we know it a thing of the past, and create a compassionate, non-violent future," he wrote.

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About The Author
Cole Blake is currently an Editor at HotNewHipHop based out of Brooklyn, New York. He began working at the site as an intern back in 2018 while studying journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s graduated with a bachelor's degree and written extensively about a wide range of topics including pop culture, film & television, politics, video games, sports, and much more. He’s also covered music festivals such as Gov. Ball and Rolling Loud. You can find him publishing work for HNHH from Monday to Wednesday or on weekends. On the sports front, Cole’s a passionate NBA and NFL fan with his favorite teams being the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Lakers. He also roots for the Yankees whenever he finds himself at Yankee Stadium or the Red Storm when in the company of other SJU alumni. His favorite hip-hop artists are billy woods, Earl Sweatshirt, Cam’ron, MIKE, and Mach-Hommy.