On Monday, fears of dismantling city police comes from a “place of privilege,” Minneapolis City Council president Lisa Bender said to CNN anchor Alisyn Camerota.
“What if in the middle of the night my home is broken into. Who do I call?” Camerota asked Bender after she laid out her vision for a post-police world.
“I hear that loud and clear from a lot of my neighbors, and I know — and myself, too, and I know that that comes from a place of privilege,” Bender responded. “For those of us for whom the system is working, I think we need to step back and imagine what it would feel like to already live in that reality where calling the police may mean more harm instead.”
Bender and eight more City Council members, who collectively form a veto-proof majority on the twelve-seat political body, have already signed a pledge to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department. Mayor Jacob Frey has backed reform, however, he refused to defund the city’s police force completely.
Nevertheless, Bender appeared to push to defund the MPD immediately, saying it will take “years” before police wouldn’t be necessary. She and other Council Members had come out in support of a “police-free future” in 2017.
These people are genuinely nuts. They want to turn Minneapolis into the Wild Wild West. I wonder if City Council members will give up their police detail protections too?
“To me, [a police-free future] is a long way away, and it would take an enormous amount of investment in things that we know work to keep people safe,” Bender said. “I know the statement was bold, and I stand by that bold statement, but the work ahead of us will be long.”
Calls to defund and dismantle police departments have gone up after the death of George Floyd, a black man killed while being arrested by four Minneapolis police officers. The city dealt with peaceful demonstrations on top of violent riots, looting and burning down buildings, including a police precinct, after the incident that caused Floyd’s death.
Minn. City Council President Lisa Bender (@MplsWard10) on vote to “dismantle” police department: “Yes,” I can imagine a “police-free future.” pic.twitter.com/tLL6bEwzm0
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) June 8, 2020
