Voters in Minneapolis will vote Tuesday on whether to defund the same police department that was at the center of protests following the May 202 death of George Floyd under an officer’s knee.
Former Los Angeles Police Sgt. Cheryl Dorsey, author of “The Confidence Chronicles: The Greatest Story Never Told,” voiced concerns about the legislation in a Monday night conversation with Joe Donlon on “The Donlon Report.”
At the LAPD, “talking about defunding meant police stations closing early, meant specialized units shutting down, and so you can’t have a city of any size without an adequate police force to patrol it,” Dorsey said.
“There is a contingency of people out there who are hoping that they would defund the police, who want fewer officers on the street so that they can victimize those of us who may be out there and unable to protect ourselves,” Dorsey said. “And so, it doesn’t make sense to me to want to defund the police.“
In Minneapolis, Ballot Proposal No. 2 asks voters whether the city charter should be amended to remove its requirement that the city have a police department with a minimum staffing level. It would be replaced with a new Department of Public Safety that would take a “comprehensive public health approach,” which “could include” police officers “if necessary, to fulfill its responsibilities for public safety.” The new department would be led by a commissioner nominated by the mayor and appointed by the council.
The Minneapolis Police Department is already down nearly 300 officers, one-third below its authorized maximum of 888. Only 588 were actually available to work as of mid-October, compared with the charter-mandated minimum of about 730. A major reason is officers quitting, retiring or going on disability leaves for post-traumatic stress disorder following the sometimes violent unrest, looting and arson that followed Floyd’s death. Critics of the proposal blame the reduction in officers for the surge in gun violence and other crimes that Minneapolis has experienced since then.
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