A Democratic senator in Minnesota said she supports reforming police departments, but not abolishing them, after the Minneapolis City Council pledged to disband the city’s law enforcement.
“I don’t support abolishing police departments, but it is clear that we need to reimagine policing in a way that emphasizes deescalation and community engagement,” Sen. Tina Smith told the Star Tribune.
A veto-proof majority of Minneapolis City Council members signed a pledge Sunday to begin the process of disbanding the police department as it currently exists. The council members proposed creating a new system for public safety, though it’s unclear what that model would look like.
The death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after a white police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes, has fueled growing calls for police reform. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has voiced support for reform, but he got booed out of a rally over the weekend when he said he opposed disbanding the city’s police department.
“We need a transformative change in policing so that all Minnesotans and communities across the country can feel safe,” Smith said. “This means ending the systemic racism that perpetuates injustice and violence against communities of color. It also means reorienting law enforcement towards work that protects and services communities, rather than controlling and punishing them. We need to increase funding to social service providers — who are often better equipped to deliver positive outcomes in a more cost-effective way — to prioritize combating social challenges like mental health, substance abuse, housing insecurity, and economic insecurity at their source.”
