In Minneapolis, The City Council has formally supported deconstructing its police force, although the details of exactly what that will looks like remains unclear. One organization, Communities United Against Police Brutality, issued a list of recommendations for how it hopes to improve policing and strengthen protections for the public specifically in Minnesota as the state grapples with the fallout of Floyd’s death. One such measure involves finding ways to “stabilize” and increase police training funds. Another, which has been echoed in other circles, involves drastically altering the way police officers are insured.
“Under existing conditions, departments are incentivized to avoid disciplining officers because doing so is an admission of wrongdoing that could potentially increase the value of lawsuits over officer conduct,” reads the report from the advocacy group. “Officer conduct can cost taxpayers millions of dollars, yet the officer faces no consequences. Requiring officers to carry their own professional liability insurance shifts the risk burden to the individual and their insurance company.”
Under this plan, the city could pay a base rate for coverage, but not for additional premiums based on officer behavioral history. “This plan incentivizes officers not to engage in conduct that would raise their insurance rates and creates a consequence if they do. Some of the worst offenders—likely including ex-Officer Derek Chauvin—would become uninsurable and then would no longer be able to work as police officers,” it states. Chauvin has been charged in Floyd’s murder after video footage captured him with his knee on the unarmed man’s neck for nearly nine minutes.
FROM TWITTER
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez @AOC Jun 10
"It truly boggles my mind how anyone can see a $6 billion policing budget in ONE city alone - which is more than we spend on health, youth, housing, and homelessness services here *combined* - and say, 'You know what will fix police brutality? More money'"
Public Citizen @Public_Citizen Jun 10
"The NYPD's $6,000,000,000 budget would make it the 33rd largest military spender on the planet."
In a recent interview on the Marketplace Morning Report, University of Chicago Law School professor John Rappaport told host David Brancaccio that asking municipalities to take out private insurance policies on cops could help boost accountability and promote better policing. “When an insurance company writes coverage for police liability, the insurance company puts itself in a position where it improves its bottom line to reduce police misconduct,” he said, according to an edited transcript of the interview. “So just as your property insurer wants to make sure that your building doesn’t burn down, a police liability insurer wants to make sure that the police department it’s insuring doesn’t do things that trigger liability.”
FROM TWITTER
Kevin McCarthy @GOPLeader Jun 8
"To the police officers across the country who put on the uniform every day and uphold their oath—THANK YOU. Democrats want to defund you, but Republicans will never turn our backs on you."
Another initiative is No Cop Academy, a plan derived in Chicago. In this proposal, civil rights advocates are calling for a drastic reallocation of funds, including diverting money set aside for a new police academy that hasn’t yet begun being built. “Around the country and world, protesters and communities are lifting the demand to #DefundPolice and reallocate resources to the social programs that create real public safety. We are ecstatic about this development, yet recognize that the battle is far from over,” reads information from the group.
The groups have also gone as far as to call for the Chicago Police Department’s $1.7 billion budget to be slashed as it continues “terrorizing” communities.