Minneapolis Rejects Effort to Replace Police Department
AllSides Summary
A majority of voters in Minneapolis, Minnesota voted against a measure that would have replaced the city's police department with a new public safety department.
The initiative would have removed minimum funding requirements for the police department and would have divided control of public safety between the City Council and the mayor. The new public safety department would have likely included police officers "if necessary," social workers and other officials tasked with employing "a comprehensive public health approach" to protect the community. Roughly 56% of voters opposed it, according to the Minnesota Secretary of State's office, with nearly all precincts reporting. It needed 51% approval to pass.
The decision was covered across the spectrum. Coverage from left-rated sources sometimes framed the news as indicative of the continued need to push for police reform and the difficulty of accomplishing it. Some reports from right-rated outlets highlighted Minneapolis' voters concerns about crime; others framed the proposal as vague and the idea of replacing the police department as misguided.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
Minneapolis police reform movement fails on the ballot
Minneapolis voters on Tuesday rejected a ballot measure to overhaul the city's police department by replacing it with a new agency.
Why it matters: The result — in the city where George Floyd was murdered by a police officer a year and a half ago — is a significant blow to the police reform movement's momentum in Minneapolis and beyond.
State of play: Returns Tuesday night showed Question 2 failing by a double-digit margin, 56% to 43%
Details: The measure called for replacing MPD with a new Department of Public Safety that "employs...
From the Left
At George Floyd Square, hopes for major change in Minneapolis policing fade with the darkness 
Kimberly Wooster gazed sadly into the fire she tended across the street from where police killed George Floyd, processing the reality that voters had rejected a proposal aimed at replacing the city's Police Department.
"I had hope," she said quietly. "I really did."
Hours before, the activists who had helped turn the intersection into an epicenter for the police reform movement warmed burritos in the fire. They discussed how the past 527 days had changed the dialogue on public safety as they awaited results from the polls.
But their hopes...
From the Right
Minneapolis voters reject measure to replace police department
Voters in Minnesota's largest city have rejected what would have been an unprecedented move to dismantle the police department on Tuesday after calls for reform following the death of George Floyd.
The measure asked voters if they favored amending the city's charter to replace the Minneapolis Police Department with a Department of Public Safety. The initiative would have removed language from the charter related to the agency, including minimum funding requirements, and would have divided control of public safety between the mayor and City Council.
The question failed 57% to 44%, according to the results released...
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