This archive report was first published on 8 June 2020.
On June 7, 2020, Minneapolis city councillors made a historic decision to dismantle and rebuild the city's police department in the wake of George Floyd's death in custody.
The move comes after a white Minneapolis police officer was charged with murder in the May 25 death of George Floyd, who was pinned to the ground by the officer's knee for nearly nine minutes while he pleaded for his life.
Council President Lisa Bender stated, 'We committed to dismantling policing as we know it in the city of Minneapolis and to rebuild with our community a new model of public safety that actually keeps our community safe.'
According to Council Member Alondra Cano, the decision was made through a veto-proof majority of the MPLS City Council, which agreed that the police department 'is not reformable and that we're going to end the current policing system.'
The decision to dismantle the police department is part of a broader movement to address racism in US law enforcement, with some marchers calling for the police to be defunded.
