Three members of the Minneapolis City Council reportedly received private security details after receiving threats to support proposals to remove the city police department following the death of George Floyd.
Currently, the city is spending $ 4,500 per day on security for council members Andrea Jenkins, Phillips Cunningham and Alondra Cano, Fox 9 reported Friday.
A city spokesperson told the outlet that private security has cost approximately $ 63,000 in the past three weeks.
The security comes after all three council members faced threats due to their support to underfund the Minneapolis Police Department.
Cunningham told the outlet that security is temporary, but declined to elaborate on the security measures.
“I am not comfortable discussing publicly the death threats against me or the level of security I currently have in protecting myself from those threats,” Cunningham said in a text message to the media.
Jenkins said he received threats in emails, letters, and social media posts.
“My concern is the large number of white nationalists in our city and other threatening communications that I have been receiving,” Jenkins told the outlet, adding that he has called for security since he was sworn in.
Jenkins added that she has not reported the threats to the Minneapolis Police Department because she has been concerned about the dual crisis of the “global pandemic and the global uprising” over the murder of George Floyd.
A spokesperson told the store that all three council members are being protected by private security services because city police officers are needed in the community amid protests and riots.
The hourly cost of private security is similar to the cost for a police officer, the spokesperson added.
The expense does not need to be approved by the city council unless it exceeds $ 175,000. A city spokesperson told Fox 9 that temporary security costs are not expected to increase as much.
Minneapolis City Council on Friday unanimously approved A proposal that would amend the city statutes to allow the dismantling of the city police department.
The 12-0 vote is the last push to hold the police accountable after the death of Floyd, an unarmed black man who was killed last month in a meeting with city police.
Approval of the proposal is the first step in making the decision a voting measure in the November general election.
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