As Minneapolis City Council's pledge to abolish police collapses, members claim vow was made 'in spirit'

What is the background?

After the tragic death of George Floyd, the Minneapolis City Council — composed of 12 Democrats and zero Republicans — promised to replace the Minneapolis Police Department with an alternative, community-based law enforcement model.

"Yes. We are going to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department and replace it with a transformative new model of public safety," Council President Lisa Bender said in June.

Days later, the majority of the council formally signed a pledge to abolish their city's police department.
"Decades of police reform efforts have proved that the Minneapolis Police Department cannot be reformed and will never be accountable for its actions," the council said, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported. "We are here today to begin the process of ending the Minneapolis Police Department and creating a new, transformative model for cultivating safety in Minneapolis."

What's happening now?

Four months after cementing those promises amid national racial unrest, some members of the council are now claiming their promises did not really mean what they said they meant. In fact, according to the New York Times, some council members "would like a do-over."