It was a humiliation on an almost unimaginable scale outside the cinema or the nightmare.
But for Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis, a 38-year-old civil rights lawyer who took office in 2018 on a promise to repair broken relationships between the community and the police, it was all too real.
He was there Saturday, retreating into a sea of protesters shouting, “Go home, Jacob, go home!” and “Shame! Shame!” after refusing to commit to funding the police department. As he walked away, the crowd continued to sing “Shame! Shame! “- a moment reminiscent of the excruciating march of shame in” Game of Thrones “.
The scene in Minneapolis, which has ricocheted on social networks, reflected the intense pressure that the country’s protesters are exerting on elected officials to commit to making radical changes to the country’s law enforcement system after the death of George Floyd almost two weeks ago.
Across the country, calls to fund, downsize, or end police services have gained new strength since Mr. Floyd, a 46-year-old black man from Minneapolis, died after a white police officer pushed him down. knee in the neck for almost nine minutes.
Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti announced on Wednesday that he would reduce the planned police department budget increase by up to $ 150 million. And in New York City, Corey Johnson, the chairman of the city council, and Daniel Dromm, a member of the Queens council, swore before the latest protests to cut the police department’s $ 6 billion budget.
In Minneapolis, at least four city council members have called for the dismantling of the police department, where four former officers have been charged with the death of Mr. Floyd.
“And when we’re done, we’re not just putting the pieces together,” said Jeremiah Ellison, city council member, on Twitter this week. “We are going to radically rethink our approach to public safety and emergency response.”
On Saturday, Mr. Frey was forced to express his position on the issue by protesters who had gathered in front of his house.
Overlooking the mayor on a stage, a woman with a microphone asked him if he would immediately commit to fund the Minneapolis Police Department.
“It’s a yes or no,” she said, asking the crowd to be quiet and reminding them that the mayor was ready to be re-elected next year. “And if he says no, guess what we are going to do next year,” she said, adding clarity.
She then turned the microphone over to Mr. Frey, who said in a barely audible voice muffled by his face mask: “I do not support the complete abolition of the police.”
With that, the protesters started chanting “Go home, Jacob, go home!” and “Shame! Shame!”
After Mr. Frey left quietly, a spokesperson reiterated that the mayor’s position on the issue had not changed and that he preferred to work with the city’s police chief, Medaria Arradondo.
“Mayor Frey is unwavering in his commitment to work with Chief Arradondo for far-reaching structural reforms and the uprooting of systemic racism,” said spokesman Mychal Vlatkovich. “He does not support the abolition of the police department.”
