MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Some Minneapolis City Council members are preparing a new plan that seeks to replace the city’s police department in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
Phillipe Cunningham, Steve Fletcher and Jeremy Schroeder are working on a proposal to create a new public safety department that removes the police department as a standalone department from the city charter.
The three are still working on their plan and expect to release it by the end of January, the Star Tribune reported. It would require voter approval.
Cunningham told the newspaper that the proposal might place oversight of the new department on par with many other city departments, giving the council legislative authority while the mayor would retain executive authority.
Mychal Vlatkovich, a spokesman for Mayor Jacob Frey, said the mayor had concerns about “clarity of command” but would review the proposal when it’s ready.
The city and police department have come under pressure to overhaul policing since Floyd, a Black man who was in handcuffs, died on May 25 after an officer pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck as Floyd said he couldn’t breathe.
Several council members tried and failed to eliminate the police department last year. Their proposal to form a new public safety unit was blocked when the city’s charter commission declined to advance the idea to the November ballot.
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