Minneapolis, June 9 (RHC)-- As historic protests continue to sweep the country two weeks after the police murder of George Floyd, the Minneapolis City Council has announced it would move to disband the city’s police department.  

Councilmember Phillipe Cunningham told reporters: “This work is not new.  We know that.  And across the entire city over the last two weeks, we have seen that it is possible for us to keep our own communities safe.  In North Minneapolis, as the buildings were being broken and burned by white supremacists and extremists, MPD was nowhere to be found.  While we have no paradigm for policing that is not rooted in white supremacy, we do have a paradigm and a way to have community safety that is rooted in community and justice.”

The vow to disband the police came just days after the Minneapolis City Council voted to ban chokeholds and neck restraints.  Derek Chauvin, the former officer who killed Floyd by kneeling on his neck for nearly nine minutes, will make his first court appearance today.