As the mass uprising shows no signs of abating, more policy changes are taking shape around the country. San Francisco announced last week that trained, unarmed professionals will respond to noncriminal calls instead of police. On Saturday, Colorado lawmakers passed a bill to introduce sweeping police changes, including banning chokeholds and requiring officers to intervene if they see excessive force being used. Governor Jared Polis is expected to sign the bill into law.
Meanwhile, counties and cities across the country, including Cleveland, Denver and Indianapolis, are declaring racism a public health crisis. On Friday, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said he will reallocate $3 million from the police department’s budget toward public health initiatives.
The Minneapolis City Council on Friday unanimously passed a resolution to replace the police department with a community-led public safety system — 18 days after George Floyd was killed by Derek Chauvin. Minneapolis Councilmember Alondra Cano said, “We acknowledge that the current system is not reformable, that we would like to end the current policing system as we know it.”