Minnesota football will no longer use Minneapolis police at games.
The University of Minnesota is separating itself from the Minneapolis police department in the wake of the death of George Floyd.
Four Minneapolis police officers have been charged with the death, including Derek Chauvin who is facing second-degree murder charges and being held on a $1.25 million bond.
The news of Minnesota cutting ties with the police department came in late May when local protests demanding justice for George Floyd began. Since then, protests have taken place in all 50 states, including Washington D.C. and in countries abroad. The protests have grown in time with the weekend seeing some of the largest crowds yet.
Minnesota cutting ties with the Minnesota police department came before the majority of Minneapolis City Council members announced on Sunday with their commitment to disbanding the city’s police department following the killing of Floyd.
“We’re here because we hear you. We are here today because George Floyd was killed by the Minneapolis Police. We are here because here in Minneapolis and in cities across the United States it is clear that our existing system of policing and public safety is not keeping our communities safe,” Minneapolis City Council President Lisa Bender said Sunday. “Our efforts at incremental reform have failed. Period.”
The university’s decision, as well as the state’s, doesn’t mean there will be lawlessness and total anarchy at games or throughout the state.
Football games will have private security handling all safety and security measures for games rather than the police department. Private security is what many professional teams use to employ their stadiums and arenas are safe and secure for all its employees and patrons.
In fact, one of them, CSI Security, was just in the news over the weekend after the Charlotte sports teams as well as some North and South Carolina colleges parting ways after a former employee’s insensitive comments.
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