Brad Brooks

(Reuters] – Minneapolis’s voters could decide Tuesday to eliminate their police force to make way for a reimagined Department that adopts a holistic approach towards crime and it causes. This comes 18 months after George Floyd was murdered, which sparked protests worldwide for racial justice.

The ballot’s Department of Public Safety, which supporters claim is needed following decades of failure to reform police forces in the past.

Minneapolis’ 430,000 inhabitants say this is an error. With crime increasing, it has been criticized by opponents. They say that while policing should be fairer, reforms must take place in the current structure.

In May 2020, the city found itself at the heart of U.S. racial injustice debates when Officer Derek Chauvin held his knee against Floyd’s neck for nine minutes. Chauvin was sentenced to 22 1/2 years imprisonment in June.

Floyd’s other two officers were also charged and will be tried in March.

Democrats were once allies in this largely progressive Midwestern community, but have now split on the issue of the ballot question. There are many who fear that the dissolution of this department could provide Republicans with easy electoral fodder ahead of the November 2022 congressional election.

Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Aradondo and Mayor Jacob Frey are the two opponents to this measure. Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar and Governor Tim Walz.

The state’s most prominent progressives, such as U.S. Representative Ilhan Olmar and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (who oversaw Chauvin’s trial), support this change.

Many of the residents of Minneapolis who were interviewed last Wednesday said that they are confused by how a new police department will operate.

The mayor and city council will then examine the needs of residents if they approve creation of the public safety department. This could include armed officers to respond to violent crime or mental-health specialists to treat situations in which a gun-wielding officer isn’t necessary.