Minneapolis City Council has voted unanimously to move nearly $8 million from next year’s police budget to other services. The council tried and failed to dismantle the police department in the wake of George Floyd’s death in May, which sparked protests throughout the world. But early Thursday, they agreed to take millions from the police department and put it toward other strategies aimed at tackling an unprecedented wave of violence in the city. The council initially planned to slash the city’s police force by more than 100 officers—down to 750—but that proposal was abandoned after Mayor Jacob Frey threatened to veto the entire budget. Frey welcomed the revised wording of the proposals, saying there are now “reasons to be optimistic about the future in Minneapolis.”
