Minneapolis City Council president says if you are concerned about not having any police, that 'comes from a place of privilege'

Minneapolis City Council President Lisa Bender is standing by the council's plan to disband the local police department, and she responded to people who might be concerned about not having police to call if someone breaks into their house by saying that their concerns came "from a place of privilege."

On Monday, Bender spoke with Alisyn Camerota on CNN's "New Day," where she said that she's wholly able to envision a future for the city sans police department.

Last week, Bender said she would lead the fight to defund and dismantle the police force following the police killing of George Floyd.

What are the details?

Speaking to Camerota about the controversial pledge to entirely dismantle the police force, Bender said that she had a grand vision for a reduction in police force back in 2016 when she and other lawmakers were running for office.

"A lot of us were asked if we could imagine a future without police back in 2017 when we were running for office," Bender said. "And I answered 'yes' to that question."

Bender added that she's aware that disbanding the police force will come with problems of its own.

"I know that [concerns over having no law enforcement] comes from a place of privilege," she insisted. "For those of us for whom the system is working, I think we need to step back and imagine what it would feel like to already live in that reality where calling the police may mean more harm is done."

On Sunday, the Minneapolis City Council vowed to shut down the city's police department. Nine of the council's 13 members pledged to begin dismantling the local police department as it exists.

Councilwoman Alondra Cano said that the councilmembers' unity "signals a strong and clear direction about where this is going."

In a statement, members of the council said, "Decades of police reform efforts have proved that the Minneapolis Police Department cannot be reformed and will never be accountable for its actions. We are here today to begin the process of ending the Minneapolis Police Department and creating a new, transformative model for cultivating safety in Minneapolis."

The council did not detail what type of law enforcement would take the place of its existing law enforcement.

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