Washington, D.C. (Monday, June 8, 2020) – It’s become the new rallying call at marches and protests around the country, “Defund the Police.”  But exactly what does that mean and what would such an effort look like?  Minneapolis is moving to answer that question.  The City Council yesterday pledged to dismantle its police department .

While it’s still unclear exactly what that will look like, lawmakers said they plan to study models being tested in other cities.  Thus far, it appears to be the biggest response to what has morphed into world wide outraged over the police death of George Floyd.  New York and Los Angeles city officials are also considering some form of action vowing to shrink their police budgets in coming months.

Black Lives Matter has called for defunding the police by taking dollars from police departments and steering those funds to programs like education, mental health, and other social services.  Lots of questions are raised by others who say if such action is taken who will help to protect and patrol cities across the country.

Meantime on Capitol Hill, House democrats plan to unveil legislation today that would make it easier to prosecute police misconduct and recover damages from officers who violate people’s constitutional rights.