Minneapolis Mayor Maintains Opposition On Calls To Defund Police

After being booed Saturday (June 6) for disagreeing with protesters over defunding police, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey told CNN that he has not changed his stance.

Frey said he was “honest” when he told protesters that he did not support removing funds from the city’s police department.

In the interview, Frey said, “My rule of thumb throughout has been be open, be honest, be transparent, and so, yes, I came outside, I sat down with the protesters and they called me up and asked me if was willing right there to commit to getting rid of the police, and I was honest.”

He acknowledged that people had the right to feel “frustrated right now” about the death of George Floyd during an alleged incident involving the police has sparked nationwide protests.

In a statement, Frey said that he was working with Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo and members of the community to address what he called “systemic racism in police culture” and work on structural reforms.

“We're ready to dig in and enact more community-led, public safety strategies on behalf of our city. But, I do not support abolishing the Minneapolis Police Department,” the statement read.

Frey was met with boos from a group of demonstrators after he said he did not support abolishing the police department of Minneapolis.

He walked away from the crowd to chants of “Go home, Jacob” and “Shame” after expressing his opposition to defunding the Minneapolis Police Department.

Nine members of the Minneapolis city council spoke during protests at Powderhorn Park in Minneapolis promising to “end policing as we know it and recreate systems that actually keep us safe.”

The members reportedly represent a veto-proof majority in the council that can override Frey’s opposition if they push a measure.

Council President Lisa Bender, who was among the members in the council who attended the protests, said they were committed to ending the city’s relationship with the police department.

“It is clear that our system of policing is not keeping our communities safe. Our efforts at incremental reform have failed, period,” she said.

Both President Donald Trump and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden have said they do not support calls to defund the police.

“There won’t be defunding. There won’t be dismantling of our police, and there’s not going to be any disbanding of our police,” Trump said Monday (June 8) during a meeting with police chiefs at the White House.

In an interview with CBS, Biden said he supported “conditioning federal aid to police” based on their ability to “demonstrate they can protect the community” using “standards of decency and honorableness.”