MINNEAPOLIS — Three Minneapolis City Council members on Wednesday agreed to withdraw their proposal asking voters to replace the Minneapolis Police Department, saying they hoped to avoid a scenario that could confuse voters this November.
Because their proposal was similar to one advanced by a new political committee called Yes4Minneapolis, Council Member Jeremy Schroeder said they wanted to "formally withdraw ours, thus freeing up some of that confusion and making it much clearer for the ballot in November."
Schroeder wrote the council version of the proposal, alongside council members Phillipe Cunningham and Steve Fletcher.
The announcement came as the city attorney's office found that a similar proposal from Yes4Minneapolis was legal and should advance to the November ballot.
Proposals to replace the Minneapolis Police Department have become a focal point in discussions about how city leaders should fulfill a promise to transform public safety in the wake of George Floyd's death.
The city's charter, which serves as its constitution, currently says Minneapolis must have a police department, with a minimum number of officers based on the city's population.
Earlier this year, the council members and Yes4Minneapolis unveiled their own proposals that would ask voters to eliminate those charter requirements and require the city to create a new public safety agency in its place.
The two proposals varied in one key area: The council proposal stated that the new department must include a division that employs police, while the Yes4Minneapolis version says the new department would include police "if necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of the department." If voters approve the change, decisions about police staffing would likely be made by the mayor and council members as they vote on future budgets and write ordinances to flesh out details of the new department.
Some of the council members had previously said they were open to withdrawing their proposal if the Yes4Minneapolis plan was cleared for the November ballot.
Council members, in a committee meeting Wednesday afternoon, voted unanimously to recommend withdrawing the proposal written by Cunningham, Fletcher and Schroeder. It heads to the full Council for a vote on Friday.
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