Minneapolis cuts $8M from police

MINNEAPOLIS — The Minneapolis City Council, which tried and failed to dismantle the police department in the wake of George Floyd’s death, voted early Thursday to shift nearly $8 million from next year’s police budget to other city services as part of an effort to “transform” public safety in the city. The plan was approved unanimously as part of the city’s 2021 budget.

Mayor Jacob Frey had threatened to veto the budget, calling the police cuts “irresponsible” as the city confronts an unprecedented wave of violence and scores of police officer departures since Floyd’s death that have left the department struggling to respond to emergencies.

But in a statement, Frey praised the council for removing language that would have permanently shrunk the size of the force by about 130 officers in what he described as a “defining moment for our city.”

Council members who supported the “Safety for All” plan argued the city could no longer tolerate what they described as a broken system of policing.

The vote came after days of contentious public hearings and deeply emotional debate among council members, who have openly struggled to balance concern about historically high crime across Minneapolis against public calls to reform a police department that has long been accused of racism and excessive force, especially against residents of color.

The budget fight unfolded six months after Floyd’s death, which sparked a national reckoning on issues of race, social justice and policing.

The 46-year-old Black man died after being handcuffed and restrained face down on a street by police responding to a 911 call about a counterfeit $20 bill that had been passed at a convenience store.