Plan to replace Minneapolis PD worries many Black residents

By MOHAMED IBRAHIM and AMY FORLITI
Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A proposal to replace the Minneapolis Police Department with a new public safety unit goes to the city’s voters this week. The idea on Tuesday’s ballot has its roots in the abolish-the-police movement that erupted after George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer last year. It draws strong support from younger Black activists energized by Floyd’s death, as well as from some Black and white residents across this liberal city. But the plan, which would drop a requirement that the city have a minimum number of police officers, has aroused concern in some of the city’s most dangerous neighborhoods, where many Black residents fear it would make them more vulnerable just as violent crime is spiking.