The Minneapolis City Council unanimously approved a budget Thursday that will shift about $8 million from the police department toward violence prevention and other programs—but will keep the mayor's targeted staffing levels for sworn officers intact, averting a possible veto. Mayor Jacob Frey, who had threatened to veto the entire budget if the council went ahead with its plan to cap police staffing, said the vote was a defining moment for the city, which has experienced soaring crime rates amid calls to defund the police since the May 25 death of George Floyd. "We all share a deep and abiding reverence for the role our local government plays in service of the people of our city," Frey said. "And today, there are good reasons to be optimistic about the future in Minneapolis."
The City Council had initially approved a proposal to cut the city's authorized police force to 750 officers, down from the current 888, beginning in 2022, the AP reports. But they changed course late Wednesday after the mayor called the move “irresponsible." The council voted 7-6 on Wednesday to keep the cap at 888. Supporters call the City Council's plan “Safety for All,” the latest version of the "defund the police" movement that Minneapolis and other cities have considered since Floyd’s death ignited mass demonstrations against police brutality and a nationwide reckoning with racism The plan cuts nearly $8 million from Frey’s $179 million policing budget and redirects it to mental health teams, violence prevention programs, and other initiatives.
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