A coalition of anti-police-violence organizations hosted a press conference on June 8 outlining actionable recommendations to address systemic issues within the Minneapolis Police Department in the wake of George Floyd’s killing.
The coalition includes Communities United Against Police Brutality (CUAPB), Minnesota’s chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN), Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar, the Racial Justice Network (RJN), Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC), and longtime human rights activist Mel Reeves.
CUAPB, which was founded over 30 years ago, has long been “trying to raise the alarm bells for the state of Minnesota about the crisis of policing that we have right now [and] that we have always had,” said Nekima Levy Armstrong, RJN founder, at the conference.
In addition to the outlined recommendations, the organizations renewed their call to have State Attorney General Keith Ellison remove himself and appoint an independent special prosecutor to oversee the prosecution of the four police officers responsible for Floyd’s death.
The press conference came just days after protesters took to the streets this weekend to call for the defunding of police and the Minneapolis City Councilmembers publicly committed to exploring how to do it.
