The wheels are in motion to put the possibility of dismantling the Minneapolis Police Department in front of city voters.
The Minneapolis City Council Friday voted unanimously to forward the proposal, which now goes through bureaucratic hurders before getting on the November ballot.
Five members of the council created the proposal to amend the Minneapolis city charter, which would pave the way for the proposal that had been simmering for years but finally broke into the forefront with the death of George Floyd while in police custody on May 25.
Any amendments to the charter of Minneapolis needs voter approval.
Council has been split on the idea, with Mayor Jacob Frey voicing his disapproval.
The mayor says the proposal as written is ambiguous.
“There are a lot of big ideas being discussed, some of which are somewhat contradictory, we’re going to have to make decisions,” said council member Steve Fletcher during the virtual meeting. “I just wanted to be clear, if we wanted to abolish the police department, as some are calling for, we need a charter change.”
The next step is putting the proposed amendment in front of the Minneapolis charter commission. That happens next month.
The proposed amendment needs to be finalized by Aug. 21 to be included on ballot for the November general election.