MINNEAPOLIS _ Two-thirds of Minneapolis City Council members joined activists in Powderhorn Park Sunday and promised to "begin the process of ending the Minneapolis Police Department."
"Decades of police reform efforts have proved that the Minneapolis police department cannot be reformed, and will never be accountable for its actions," the council members said, in a statement that they read off piece by piece.
Joining in the statement were Council President Lisa Bender, Vice President Andrea Jenkins and council members Alondra Cano, Jeremiah Ellison, Cam Gordon, Jeremy Schroeder, Phillipe Cunningham and Andrew Johnson.
Their statement set up what is likely to be a long, complicated fight over how to change the police force following George Floyd's death. The video of Floyd, pinned underneath an officer's knee for nearly nine minutes, has renewed debates around the country about whether cities should reform _ or completely eliminate _ their local police departments.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has said that he supports systemic changes to the police department but does not support abolishing it altogether.
Star Tribune Reporter Kelly Smith contributed to this report.
