The city council of Minneapolis, U.S. state Minnesota's largest city where black man George Floyd died in police custody last month, unanimously approved a proposal on Friday that would amend the city's charter to allow the city police department to be dismantled.
The passage in a 12-0 vote is the first step toward making the decision a ballot measure in the November general election, local media reported.
The proposal requires the head of the city police department would be somebody with "non-law-enforcement experience in community safety services, including but not limited to public health and/or restorative justice approaches," according to a The Hill report.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat, has previously said he doesn't support dismantling the police, criticizing the proposal as lacking clarity and being rushed, said the report.
Floyd, aged 46, died on May 25 after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, held him down with a knee on his neck for almost nine minutes. His death has prompted weeks of protests and civil unrest in at least 140 cities across the United States since then.
Several cities across the country have banned chokeholds and reduced police department budgets this month as a result.
