GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) — The Minneapolis City Council is expected to defund and dissolve their police department after demands from activists in response to the death of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department.
While protesters over the weekend in Green Bay held up signs with similar demands, you won’t see District 4 Alderman and former Green Bay Police Officer Bill Galvin voting for doing such a thing here.
“There are they’re talking about completely shutting down the police department,” Galvin told WTAQ. “I think that’s that’s ridiculous. I don’t think it’s feasible.”
Galvin does say there is is room for change.
“I think, if you were to talk any chief of police, that there are certainly some roles that the police have been saddled with over the years that they would be very happy not to have to respond to any more,” he said Monday.
District 9 Alderman Brian Johnson agrees, saying police shouldn’t have to be the only ones dealing with things like homelessness and addiction.
“What I do think has merit is saying ‘Hey let’s invest more funding in those particular programs,’” said Johnson. “I don’t think that it necessarily needs to come from defunding the police.”
District 1 Alderwoman Barbara Dorff says it’s a matter of training.
“To defund the police department would not be a wise decision,” Dorff said. “I think that we have to look at making changes, [like]…better training.”
She added that under Green Bay Police Chief Andrew Smith, the department does undergo diversity training, but says “they could have more”.
It’s not clear what will happen when, or if, Minneapolis dissolves its police department. A veto-proof majority of that city’s city council stood on stage during protests there over the weekend and committed to defunding the police.
