Wednesday, November 03, 2021
Minneapolis citizens vote
Floyd case: Police department not to be replaced
Shortly after the violent death of George Floyd, consequences are announced in Minneapolis police work. However, the petition to abolish the police authority has now been rejected by a majority in a citizen vote. In the spirit of the incumbent mayor.
Less than a year and a half after the killing of the African American George Floyd in Minneapolis, the citizens of the city have spoken out against the abolition of the police department in its current form. A good 56 percent of those surveyed voted against a corresponding petition on Tuesday evening (local time), according to official information. The issue was that the police in Minneapolis in the US state of Minnesoata should be replaced by a new “public safety agency”.
More than 56 percent of voters spoke out against the plan to create a new “public security agency”.
(Photo: picture alliance / ASSOCIATED PRESS)
The new agency should have taken a “comprehensive approach to public health”. The staff should also be able to include police officers. The police apparatus in Minneapolis continues to face severe criticism. The US Department of Justice announced in April that it would examine the officers’ methods. Floyd was killed in a brutal police operation in May 2020. Since then, the Minneapolis Police Department has been under massive pressure. Floyd’s death sparked months of protests against racism and police violence in the United States. Since the incident, the debate over how to deal with the police has divided the United States. While many Democrats advocate reforms to make police more accountable, many Republicans have criticized a campaign against the police.
The democratic mayor Jacob Frey, who had rejected the reform plans, was relieved by the result of the vote. “We need a profound, structural change in police work in America,” said Frey, according to the Washington Post, during an appearance in front of supporters of his Democratic Party. “At the same time, we need to make sure that police officers are working directly with the community to ensure our safety.” Frey is applying for a second term as mayor of the city. In the first ballot, however, he missed direct re-election with around 43 percent of the vote.
Democrats called for public funds to be redistributed to the police. They faced accusations from Republicans of wanting to withdraw funds from the police. In the trial for the killing of Floyd, the responsible US court had sentenced the convicted white ex-police officer Derek Chauvin to a prison sentence of 22 years and six months in June. In addition to Chauvin, three other ex-police officers involved in the operation against Floyd were charged. You will be on trial in Minneapolis beginning March next year.