Representative Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., Criticized a judge’s decision to block a Minneapolis vote that would replace the city’s police department with a new public safety department.
During a face-to-face town hall meeting Tuesday evening in Minneapolis, Omar blamed big money for thwarting a progressive move that she said would have given the city “flexibility” on how to better control the city.
“Leaders who oppose progress in this city are not nameless or faceless,” he said. “Using your network to obstruct the kind of progress so many people in this city want and want is not something that should go unnoticed.”
ILHAN OMAR, KEITH ELLISON, SUPPORT MEASURE TO REPLACE MINNEAPOLIS POLICE DEPARTMENT
“This voting measure should be on the ballot,” he said. “As you can tell, I’m pretty upset about that.”
“We have people who pour so much money into enslaving us from a letter that most of us do [oppose]”It continued.” This is the opposite of what democracy should produce. People had a vision of what they wanted, and there is a judge, a mayor, a police chief, and their friends who tell us we can’t have a flexible city for our needs and demands. . How else should we progress if we cannot? “
Omar’s comments came after Hennepin County District Judge Jamie Anderson on Tuesday rejected question 2 of the Minneapolis vote for the Nov. 2 election, saying the wording was “unreasonable and misleading.” “.
The question was to ask voters if they wanted the city charter to be amended to replace the Minneapolis Police Department with a Department of Public Safety, “which could include peace officers (police officers) if necessary, with administrative authority. to be consistent with other city departments in fulfilling their public safety responsibilities. “
Omar argued in an August 31 opinion on Star Tribune that the measure was a necessary step to end police brutality and make communities safer.
“The truth is that the current system has not served our city for a long time,” he wrote. “I’ve been saying for a long time that we need a public safety system that is really rooted in people’s basic human needs.”
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison also backed the measure last month, saying Minneapolis residents are eager for police reform and “accountability” after George Floyd’s assassination. city last year.
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“Basically, the communities of [Minneapolis] we need and want the possibility of reforms and accountability, which the current Charter blocks, making us an obsolete model for law enforcement and security. They want to end the cycle of inaction “, Ellison tweeted on August 31st.
“This year the residents of [Minneapolis] they have asked for and can take this first step of action on the ballot. As a resident of [Minneapolis] where the assassination of George Floyd provoked a national call for real reform, I will vote Yes for greater public safety and more human rights for all. # Yes4Minneapolis. “