Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey Forced to Leave Protest for Refusing to Defund Police
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The New York Times
For Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis, a Walk of Shame
A sea of protesters yelled, “Go home, Jacob, go home!” and “Shame! Shame!” when he would not, on the spot, commit to abolishing the Police Department.
By Michael Levenson
Chanting “Shame” and “Go home, Jacob, go home,” demonstrators drove Mayor Jacob Frey out of a rally after he declined to commit to defunding the police.
Credit...Image by Victor J. Blue for The New York Times
It was humiliation on a scale almost unimaginable outside of cinema or nightmare.
But for Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis, a 38-year-old civil rights lawyer who swept into office in 2018 on promises to fix the broken relationship between the community and the police, it was all too real.
There he was on Saturday, retreating through a sea of protesters yelling, “Go home, Jacob, go home!” and “Shame! Shame!” after he refused to commit to defunding the Police Department. As he walked away, the crowd continued to chant “Shame! Shame!” — a moment reminiscent of the excruciating walk of shame from “Game of Thrones.”
The scene in Minneapolis, which ricocheted across social media, reflected the intense pressure protesters nationwide are putting on elected officials to commit to sweeping changes in the nation’s law enforcement system after the death of George Floyd nearly two weeks ago.
Across the country, calls to defund, downsize or abolish police departments have gained new traction since Mr. Floyd, a 46-year-old black man from Minneapolis, died after a white police officer pressed a knee into his neck for nearly nine minutes.
Looming above the mayor on a stage, a woman with a microphone asked him if he would commit on the spot to defunding the Minneapolis Police Department.
“It is a yes or no,” she said, instructing the crowd to be quiet and reminding them that the mayor is up for re-election next year. “And if he says no, guess what we’re going to do next year,” she said, adding an expletive for emphasis.
She then handed the microphone to Mr. Frey, who said in a barely audible voice muffled by his face mask, “I do not support the full abolition of the police.”
With that, the protesters began their chants of “Go home, Jacob, go home!” and “Shame! Shame!”
After Mr. Frey walked away quietly, a spokesman reiterated that the mayor’s position on the issue had not changed and that he prefers instead to work with the city’s police chief, Medaria Arradondo.
“Mayor Frey is unwavering in his commitment to working with Chief Arradondo toward deep structural reforms and uprooting systemic racism,” said the spokesman, Mychal Vlatkovich. “He does not support abolishing the police department.”
Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis Had Promised to Improve Police Relations
May 29, 2020
[URL='https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/05/us/coronavirus-education-lost-learning.html?module=MoreInSection_AMP']June 6, 2020[/URL]
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For Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis, a Walk of Shame
A sea of protesters yelled, “Go home, Jacob, go home!” and “Shame! Shame!” when he would not, on the spot, commit to abolishing the Police Department.
By Michael Levenson
- June 7, 2020, 12:46 a.m. ET
Chanting “Shame” and “Go home, Jacob, go home,” demonstrators drove Mayor Jacob Frey out of a rally after he declined to commit to defunding the police.
Credit...Image by Victor J. Blue for The New York Times
It was humiliation on a scale almost unimaginable outside of cinema or nightmare.
But for Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis, a 38-year-old civil rights lawyer who swept into office in 2018 on promises to fix the broken relationship between the community and the police, it was all too real.
There he was on Saturday, retreating through a sea of protesters yelling, “Go home, Jacob, go home!” and “Shame! Shame!” after he refused to commit to defunding the Police Department. As he walked away, the crowd continued to chant “Shame! Shame!” — a moment reminiscent of the excruciating walk of shame from “Game of Thrones.”
The scene in Minneapolis, which ricocheted across social media, reflected the intense pressure protesters nationwide are putting on elected officials to commit to sweeping changes in the nation’s law enforcement system after the death of George Floyd nearly two weeks ago.
Across the country, calls to defund, downsize or abolish police departments have gained new traction since Mr. Floyd, a 46-year-old black man from Minneapolis, died after a white police officer pressed a knee into his neck for nearly nine minutes.
Looming above the mayor on a stage, a woman with a microphone asked him if he would commit on the spot to defunding the Minneapolis Police Department.
“It is a yes or no,” she said, instructing the crowd to be quiet and reminding them that the mayor is up for re-election next year. “And if he says no, guess what we’re going to do next year,” she said, adding an expletive for emphasis.
She then handed the microphone to Mr. Frey, who said in a barely audible voice muffled by his face mask, “I do not support the full abolition of the police.”
With that, the protesters began their chants of “Go home, Jacob, go home!” and “Shame! Shame!”
After Mr. Frey walked away quietly, a spokesman reiterated that the mayor’s position on the issue had not changed and that he prefers instead to work with the city’s police chief, Medaria Arradondo.
“Mayor Frey is unwavering in his commitment to working with Chief Arradondo toward deep structural reforms and uprooting systemic racism,” said the spokesman, Mychal Vlatkovich. “He does not support abolishing the police department.”
Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis Had Promised to Improve Police Relations
May 29, 2020
[URL='https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/05/us/coronavirus-education-lost-learning.html?module=MoreInSection_AMP']June 6, 2020[/URL]
The mob wants what the mob wants. This is what happens when you give them permission to burn down a police building and make excuses for them doing so. Any mob madness after that is to be expected
Those people are idiots...they do not want any more police at all?
Fucktards.
The point is fixing what is broken not throwing it out the window.
What is that woman going to do when 4 guys break in to her house and steal all her shit. Dial 9-1-.....oh shit...wait...
Voting a mayor out of office because he will not get rid of a public service that all citizens are entitled to because some really bad fucks are in it and the majority are poorly trained?
This is when the "movement" goes way past extrem into a whole new world of stupid.
Message to Democrats...this is the message the GOP will flash all over the election cycle and will win with that message. Dems wake up every 4 years to get the minority vote and now those voters are going to get them all booted out of office.
you got that right.
The average american cityboys and citygirls would not last 29minutes in minnietown if the popo takes a hike. They are miles away from what the street has for 'em. i dig these towns in mexico that have done something similar, but these folks Do know what's up. they'll be just fine, but northamericans, lol, please. get real.
don't mess with Cheran. love it.
So, what happens is that the DOJ obtains an emergency injunction preventing the disbanding of the Minneapolis Police Department. The feds then file suit against the city and the city counsel is displaced. The city is placed under federal administration under consent decree. That is how the Los Angeles PD and the Chicago PD came under adult supervision.
We know this is the model the feds will use. The Minneapolis City Counsel just ended their own authority.
We know this is the model the feds will use. The Minneapolis City Counsel just ended their own authority.
I think the police are a public service funded by tax payers and a fundamental service provided by the local government along with school, fire, road and sanitation.
I would think there would be serious legal and regulatory roadblocks to defend a public service so easily as the council claims.