Minneapolis City Council President Lisa Bender appeared on CNN this morning to discuss the council’s plan to dismantle the city’s police department in the wake of the George Floyd killing. What, you may ask, will replace the MPD? According to Bender, they will construct a “transformative new model of public safety.” Exactly what that means isn’t yet clear.
What was notable about Bender’s comments, though, was her response when CNN talking head Alisyn Camerota asked her what a citizen should do if someone breaks into their home in the middle of the night? Who should they call for help once the local cop shop has been repurposed as a social justice encounter space (or something similar)?
Here’s Bender’s answer:
Yes, I mean I hear that loud and clear from a lot of my neighbors. And I know — and myself too — and I know that that comes from a place of privilege. Because for those of us for whom the system is working, I think we need to step back and imagine what it would feel like to already live in that reality where calling the police may mean more harm is done.
