A political campaign seeking to replace the Minneapolis Police Department took a step forward on Friday as members delivered more than 20,000 petition signatures in support of the effort to the city clerk’s office.
Yes 4 Minneapolis and those who signed on to its petition want voters to remove the police department from the city charter and put in its stead a Department of Public Safety meant to accomplish a “comprehensive public health approach to safety.”
“You have worked during a very difficult period, through a pandemic and everything else happening in the city of Minneapolis, to get all of these petitions, so congratulations to all of you,” City Clerk Casey Carl told the group as he accepted the signatures.
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Yes 4 Minneapolis describes itself as a “Black-led campaign composed of a growing coalition of grassroots, community organizations and individuals who believe a people’s petition is the best path forward for implementing a new Department of Public Safety in Minneapolis.”
We just delivered over 20,000 of your #PeoplesPetition signatures to the City Clerk’s Office! We do this work because we know what keeps us safe. It’s time to #ChangeTheCharter and invest in community & safety for all.
Follow this thread for press conference coverage ? pic.twitter.com/CZsMU6Ysoe
— Vote Yes 4 Minneapolis (@Yes4Minneapolis) April 30, 2021
“Following the murder of George Floyd last summer, we witnessed the movement for Black Lives spark a global uprising against state sanctioned violence — and it all started in Minneapolis,” the group says on its website. “We marched. We organized. And, most importantly, we learned that the majority of Minneapolis is ready for a new approach to community safety.”
Members of the campaign spoke about their push in a press conference after they delivered the signatures.
“Residents of Minneapolis have experienced brutality, injustice, and indifference from a department that’s supposed to promote safety … this is about more than changing the charter, it’s about building community,” Antonio Williams of Yes 4 Minneapolis member group The People’s Canvass said.
The campaign submitted the petition ahead of the city’s Charter Commission May 5 meeting. City staff will have 10 days to review signatures and confirm that Yes 4 Minneapolis collected at least 11,906 from registered voters in Minneapolis, or 5% of votes cast in the last state general election, according to the Star Tribune.
The clerk’s office will then report to the city council on May 17. If the clerk approves the signatures, the question, on whose language the council and Mayor Jacob Frey will be permitted to give input, will appear on the Nov. 2 ballot. If the petition has too few signatures, the group has 10 days to collect more.
In June, the Minneapolis City Council unanimously passed a resolution after the death George Floyd to begin the effort to replace the city’s police department.
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The council subsequently approved $6.4 million in funding in February to hire police officers amid a 20% year-over-year increase in violent crime in the city.
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty this month of all the charges he faced in the killing of Floyd.
