WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Minneapolis City Council has agreed to dismantle the city's police forces entirely in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd in police custody.
The 46-year-old black man died on Memorial Day after he was pinned down by a white police officer in Minneapolis for more than 8 minutes.
Derek Chauvin, 44, was fired from service and charged with murder. Three other police officers involved in the brutal incident also were fired and charged with aiding and abetting.
Floyd's death sparked outrage and protests in Minneapolis and across the United States, prompting several city authorities to declare curfew, and President Donald Trump vowing to deploy federal troops to quell violence.
The 13-member Council took the decision in front of a rally held at Powderhorn Park Sunday afternoon calling for more changes to the Minneapolis Police Department.
However, four Councillors and city Mayor Jacob Frey defied the move.
The veto-proof majority paves the way for a city security system devoid of police force, which many analysts consider as unrealistic.
But activists, who have long demanded such a step, called it a turning point.
'A veto-proof majority of the MPLS City Council just publicly agreed that the Minneapolis Police Department is not reformable and that we're going to end the current policing system,' Council Member Alondra Cano wrote on Twitter.
City council president Lisa Bender tweeted that the council is going to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department and replace it with a transformative new model of public safety. She said she would try to shift police funding towards community based strategies.
'We are going to dramatically rethink how we approach public safety and emergency response,'said another Councillor Jeremiah Ellison.
Addressing hundreds of protesters, Council Member Phillipe Cunningham said, 'Police are not the right response for a myriad of issues: mental health crises, domestic violence calls, opioid overdoses.'
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