Today, the Minneapolis Charter Commission voted to stall a proposed amendment that would have removed MPD from the city charter, in spite of hours of public testimony from Minneapolis residents calling on the Commission to #LetUsVote.

The unelected, mostly-white body used its authority to slow down the process of creating transformative change to the Minneapolis Police Department, voting 10-5 to delay their decision and keep the amendment off the November 2020 ballot.

“People in Minneapolis have been in the streets for months demanding change, only to hear from the Charter Commission that there haven’t been enough studies and consultants,” said Sophia Benrud of @BlackVisionsMN.

“When white supremacy is the law of the land, it is a luxury to say we need ‘more time’ before we can make change. Every single voter should have had the chance to vote on this amendment in 2020. This should have been our decision, not the Charter Commission’s.”

The decision comes two days after the poll release that showed that 61% of MPLS voters are prepared to vote ‘yes’ on the city charter change to create a Community Safety & Violence Prevention Dept, with only 32% in opposition. 70% of Black respondents supported the amendment.

Sheila: “Suddenly they're interested in discussions about racism & police misconduct. What stopped them from doing that when Jamar Clark, Thurman Blevins, & Fong Lee were killed? When we found out MPD was hiding untested rape kits & giving ketamine to people against their will?

While most Commission members called for slowing down the process, a few members acknowledged the problems with moving too slowly.

Commissioner Toni Newborn, the only Black member, acknowledged that while she wasn’t sure whether there had been enough engagement w/ residents, “what I do know is that we heard from thousands of community residents marching & protesting in MPLS that they demand change now.”

“People in Minneapolis are ready for transformative change & an end to violent policing—now,” said Oluchi Omeoga of @blackvisionsmn. “Like white gatekeepers have done for centuries, ten Charter Commissioners did their best to slow down our movement…"

"But we will keep moving: talking to our neighbors, building up alternative institutions to keep each other safe, and demanding city dollars for care and resources for our neighbors instead of a violent and unaccountable police force.”