Despite a spike in crime, Minneapolis city councilmembers voted to redirect $8 million away from the police force and toward programs dealing with mental health and so-called violence prevention. Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis President Bob Kroll says police officers can't keep up with the crime wave as the city council pushes forward on plans to defund the police department.
"The City Council is decimating the police department," Kroll told Fox News on Thursday. "The number of working officers is the lowest it’s been in 50 years. Murders, shootings, and other violent crimes are approaching record levels. Our officers are severely overworked, understaffed, and cannot keep the public safe with these cuts."
On Thursday, the city council passed the 2021 budget, which included proposals dubbed "Safety for All." The proposals are part of the council's hindered efforts to defund the police.
In June, the Minneapolis City Council voted unanimously to defund and dismantle the city's police department. After moving to abolish cops, it was reported that several city councilmembers were receiving private security protection paid for by the city of Minneapolis. When it comes to their own protection, the councilmembers tellingly hired private security guards instead of throwing money at mental health and crime prevention programs.
The councilmembers said they received threats after voting to dismantle the police department, but it was Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis President Bob Kroll's house where an angry mob of leftist loons gathered in August to harass and threaten Kroll and his family.
Video captured the moment when incoming Minnesota State House Rep. John Thompson, a Democrat, led the mob with a bullhorn, hurling epithets and obscenities at frightened children standing outside Kroll's home. The mob also took swings at pinatas that depicted Kroll and his wife.
As reported by Fox News, the city's charter commission chose not to put the issue before voters in the 2020 election, staving off the issue until at least 2021. Jeremiah Ellison, the son of Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, said the council will revisit the charter change next year.
"This is NOT the last chance we will have to dramatically rethink public safety in our city," said Ellison. "We will quickly be in 2021 budget discussions, we will continue to ramp up community engagement on the future of public safety, and we will revisit the charter change for the 2021 ballot."
