Minneapolis will spend $ 6.4 million to hire dozens more police officers after a large number of officers left the department after George Floyd’s death and the protests that followed.
The Minnesota City Police Department said it has only 638 police officers available to work, 200 fewer than in recent years, the Star Tribune reported.
Several police officers have resigned, retired or had extended medical leave, many for PTSD claims, after last spring’s riots that included a police station being burned and calls to close the police force. About 155 police officers remain on some form of extended leave, the report said.
In the months following the protests, many residents asked the city to hire more police officers, saying they are waiting longer for answers to 911 calls amid a wave of violent crime.
The additional funding for the force, unanimously approved by the City Council on Friday, comes even when some councilors and activist groups are pushing to dismantle the department, saying the police have not been effective in reducing crime.
Three board members drafted a proposal to replace force with a “public security department” that would include policing and other services.
A coalition of community activists called Yes 4 Minneapolis is also working on a similar proposal in the November vote.