Minneapolis mayor remains opposed to defunding police department

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey isn’t backing down on his opposition to defunding or dismantling the Minneapolis Police Department.

Over the weekend, he was booed loudly by a crowd of protesters who favor such a move proposed by nine of 12 Minneapolis City Council members.

The calls to defund the Minneapolis Police Department have come after the death of George Floyd, a black man who died while in the custody of the police. Video of the fatal arrest shows former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin with his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes.

"If we’re re-imagining entirely what the Minneapolis Police Department looks like, I am entirely in favor of it," Frey said Monday. "However, as I’ve mentioned previously, I’m not for abolition of the police department."

Frey was speaking at an event where he announced the formation of a group called Minneapolis Forward: Community Now Coalition. The group is made up of leaders of foundations, businesses and community organizations like the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce.

While the group will be focused on rebuilding businesses damaged by rioting, looting, and arson and stabilizing local neighborhood economies, the mayor acknowledges that will require stabilizing public safety.

"Let me be very clear," he said at a news conference at the Sabathani Community Center. "I am entirely committed to seeing through massive transformational and structure reform as to how the Minneapolis Police Department operates."

Frey acknowledged that previous attempts to reform the police department haven’t worked, but this time he thinks this time may be different.

"Right now we have this ability to harness this energy, to harness this anger, to harness this sadness to finally get a result," he said.

Although nine of 12 city council members say they would vote to "defund" or "dismantle" the police department, they haven’t put forward a detailed plan. According to the Minneapolis City Charter, they would also need a unanimous vote of the council to make such a significant move or a majority of the council could vote to put the question to Minneapolis voters.