Minneapolis mayor, Council spar on policing ballot wording

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The Minneapolis City Council and Mayor Jacob Frey are sparring over the language on a ballot proposal to dismantle the city’s police department and remake it into an agency that focuses on public health and safety.

The City Council had pushed wording of the ballot question favored by groups that are pushing to transform the city’s policing, the Star Tribune reported.

A group of activists and several City Council members are asking voters in November to replace the police department with a “public safety department” that employs licensed peace officers “if necessary.”

But Frey twice vetoed ballot language approved by the City Council.