The narratives, they are a-changin'!
Minneapolis lawmakers distance themselves from 'defund the police' movement after $8M budget cuts
''Defund' is not the framework the council has ever chosen," one council member said (yeah sure - TT)
Two Minneapolis City Council Members are denying their involvement with the "defund the police" movement just days after the council approved a budget that shifted approximately $8 million from the police department and months after they joined colleagues in calling for the dismantlement of the Minnesota city's department.
City Council Member Steve Fletcher rejected the idea that the council's goal was to defund the police during a recent interview with local news station KSTP-TV – and instead said the budget cuts came as a result of the need to fund other programs.
"'Defund' is not the framework the council has ever chosen," Fletcher said during the interview that aired this week. He was seated next to Council Member Phillipe Cunningham, who agreed.
MINNEAPOLIS POLICE UNION HEAD BLASTS CITY COUNCIL, SAYS OFFICERS 'CANNOT KEEP THE PUBLIC SAFE WITH THESE CUTS'
Fletcher and Cunningham were two of the nine city council members who attended an event in June where they stood behind a sign that stated "defund police" and said they would dismantle the police department, just weeks after the May 25 death of George Floyd, according to the report.
"I think that it’s important to name that dismantle does not mean dismantle into nothing, it means dismantling what we currently have to build something new," Cunningham told the station.
Fletcher said the Minneapolis public was calling on elected officials "to do something really hard – to transform a system that’s existed more than a hundred years."
MINNEAPOLIS CUTS POLICE FUNDING BY $8M AMID CRIME SURGE FOLLOWING SUMMER RIOTS
"The thing that we care about is, what’s the system we’re designing that’s better?" Fletcher continued. "And yes, if we design a better system that’s going to mean investing less in traditional armed law enforcement because we’re relying less on that."
Last week, the Minneapolis City Council unanimously approved a budget that will shift about $8 million from the police department toward violence prevention and mental health programs. The policing budget was originally approximately $179 million.
(more humor after the jump)
Minneapolis lawmakers distance themselves from 'defund the police' movement after $8M budget cuts
''Defund' is not the framework the council has ever chosen," one council member said (yeah sure - TT)
Two Minneapolis City Council Members are denying their involvement with the "defund the police" movement just days after the council approved a budget that shifted approximately $8 million from the police department and months after they joined colleagues in calling for the dismantlement of the Minnesota city's department.
City Council Member Steve Fletcher rejected the idea that the council's goal was to defund the police during a recent interview with local news station KSTP-TV – and instead said the budget cuts came as a result of the need to fund other programs.
"'Defund' is not the framework the council has ever chosen," Fletcher said during the interview that aired this week. He was seated next to Council Member Phillipe Cunningham, who agreed.
MINNEAPOLIS POLICE UNION HEAD BLASTS CITY COUNCIL, SAYS OFFICERS 'CANNOT KEEP THE PUBLIC SAFE WITH THESE CUTS'
Fletcher and Cunningham were two of the nine city council members who attended an event in June where they stood behind a sign that stated "defund police" and said they would dismantle the police department, just weeks after the May 25 death of George Floyd, according to the report.
"I think that it’s important to name that dismantle does not mean dismantle into nothing, it means dismantling what we currently have to build something new," Cunningham told the station.
Fletcher said the Minneapolis public was calling on elected officials "to do something really hard – to transform a system that’s existed more than a hundred years."
MINNEAPOLIS CUTS POLICE FUNDING BY $8M AMID CRIME SURGE FOLLOWING SUMMER RIOTS
"The thing that we care about is, what’s the system we’re designing that’s better?" Fletcher continued. "And yes, if we design a better system that’s going to mean investing less in traditional armed law enforcement because we’re relying less on that."
Last week, the Minneapolis City Council unanimously approved a budget that will shift about $8 million from the police department toward violence prevention and mental health programs. The policing budget was originally approximately $179 million.
(more humor after the jump)
