© Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Star Tribune/AP
Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo
On a hot summer afternoon, Latrell Snider and his partner knocked on Abdullahi Mohamed's door, introduced themselves and launched their pitch: Minneapolis, they said, has a chance to replace its police department with something new, and they wanted Mohamed's support.
With his children looking on from a living room window, Mohamed reacted cautiously, saying he likes police and relies on them to keep his family safe. When Snider assured him that a new public safety department would still have a police unit but would do things differently — such as responding to some 911 calls without armed officers — Mohamed brightened. "I think that would be a better idea," he said.
More than a year after George Floyd's death
sparked a failed push to abolish the Minneapolis Police Department, activists and several City Council members are trying again, with a well-funded initiative that would ask voters in November
whether the department — disparaged by critics for what they say is an enduring culture of brutality — should be dismantled.
In its place would be a public safety department that employs a "comprehensive public health approach" and licensed peace officers "if necessary." The new department would no longer be under the sole command of the mayor's office, which is significant given that incumbent Mayor Jacob Frey opposes abolishing the police department while a majority of City Council members supports the idea.
More than 30 local groups are pushing for change under the "Yes 4 Minneapolis" banner. They gathered 20,000 signatures to get the measure on the ballot — almost twice the number necessary — and
have raised about $1 million, including $500,000 from Open Society Policy Center, which has ties to billionaire George Soros.
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