They seek to withdraw funds and dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department

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Black citizens killed by police in the US 7:44

Minneapolis (CNN) - Nine members of the Minneapolis City Council announced Sunday that they intend to withdraw the funds and dismantle the city's police department following the murder of George Floyd.

"We pledged to dismantle the police as we know it in the city of Minneapolis and to rebuild with our community a new model of public safety that really keeps our community safe," City Council President Lisa Bender told CNN.

MINUTE BY MINUTE: Protests continue for the death of George Floyd

With nine votes, the city council would have a veto-proof supermajority of the 13 council members, Bender said.

Sunday's promise was an acknowledgment that the current system does not work, Bender said.

"(We need to) listen, especially to our black leaders, to our communities of color, for whom the police are not working, and really let solutions be found in our community," he said.

Pressured for details on what the dismantling might look like, Bender told CNN that she was looking to redirect police funds toward community strategies and that the city council would discuss how to replace the current police department.

"The idea of ​​not having a police department is certainly not in the short term," he added.

Bender and other council members analyzed the nature of the 911 calls by voters, he said, and found that most were for mental health, health and emergency and fire services.

The nine council members made the announcement at a community rally in Minneapolis. The news of the announcement was first reported by The Appeal.

Calls to dismantle or abolish police departments have grown in the wake of Floyd's death and national protests against police brutality.

City council members had previously said they would take steps to dismantle the police department, including Bender, who tweeted earlier this week, "Yes. We are going to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department and replace it with a new transformative model of public safety. ”

Jeremiah Ellison, city councilman, tweeted a similar message Thursday, writing: “We are going to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department. And when we're done, we're not going to paste it again. We are going to dramatically rethink how we approach public safety and emergency response. ”

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey was booed by protesters Saturday night when he refused to commit to withdrawing the funds and abolishing the city's police force.

A mayor spokesman said in a statement that he is "unwavering in his commitment to work with chief (Medaria) Arradondo to achieve deep structural reforms and root out systemic racism."

New York, Chicago and Philadelphia lift curfews

The announcement of the city council came as the protests spread to its thirteenth day.

On Sunday afternoon, a crowd of protesters in Washington marched from DuPont Circle to the stretch of 16th Street that now has a huge mural that says "Black Lives Matter." There, protesters participated in a sit-in as they chanted "I can't breathe," echoing Floyd's words when a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck.

Protesters in Southern California, many of them Latino, planned a caravan from Compton to the Los Angeles Police Department headquarters. An organizer said the rally should be inclusive and socially distant, in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

"Covid-19 is real," organizer Ron Gochez told CNN. "We wanted people to be careful. That is why this is another way in which we can show our solidarity with the black community and the movement against police terrorism. ”

The damage and looting that overshadowed the early days of the riots have mostly decreased and some cities have removed curfews, including New York.

The city lifted its curfew from 8 pm to 5 am “with immediate effect,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Twitter on Sunday morning. The announcement came after several days of largely peaceful protests.

Chicago, Philadelphia and Buffalo in New York also lifted the curfew on Sunday.

Saturday's protests drew some of the largest crowds since the protests began, especially in Washington. But the songs of "Black Lives Matter" were not only heard in the United States this weekend, but also in countries around the world, such as France, Germany, England, Australia and Canada.

Despite experts' concerns about the spread of the coronavirus, peaceful crowds denouncing police brutality and demanding justice for George Floyd and radical changes in the country's police systems continue to grow in size.

Some police departments suspend the use of tear gas

Some cities have begun implementing new rules for officers or reform plans, motivated by both the protests and the violent police response they have encountered, including the use of tear gas and rubber bullets.

Police forces across the United States have been criticized for the excessive use of force during the protests.

Mayor de Blasio said Sunday that two New York police officers were suspended without pay because of their actions while monitoring protesters. One was accused of pushing a woman to the ground in Brooklyn last Friday, while the other was accused of removing a protester's face shield and spraying it with pepper spray.

Both officers face disciplinary action, de Blasio said. In addition, a supervisor in charge of the agent who pushed the woman has been reassigned.

During the week, images were recorded of a police officer in Buffalo, New York, who pushed an older protester to the ground, causing him to bleed on the head. In Fort Lauderdale, Florida, an agent was placed on administrative leave after pushing a kneeling protester during a demonstration. And in Kansas City, Missouri, images show officers using pepper spray and restraining a man who was yelling at police with excessive force.

On Saturday, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler ordered the city police chief to stop using tear gas to disperse crowds "unless there is an immediate and serious threat to the safety of life, and there is no another viable alternative to dispersal. "

"I stand in solidarity with our non-violent protesters, who are sending a strong message that we are behind on meaningful reform and restorative justice," the mayor tweeted.

Portland is the last city in the United States to depart from this tactic.

The Seattle police chief said Friday that he suspended the use of the tear gas department for crowd management for at least next month. And in Denver, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting the use of "chemical weapons or projectiles of any kind" against peaceful protesters.

The order comes after four Denver residents who participated in protests filed a complaint Thursday against the use of chemical agents and rubber bullets during the protests.

President Donald Trump tweeted Sunday that he had ordered the National Guard to withdraw from the nation's capital after days of peaceful protests. Some 5,000 soldiers were mobilized to patrol Washington, of which approximately 3,900 were from out of state.

Trump did not specify whether all forces would be withdrawn or only those from outside the state.

His comments came as Maj. Gen. William Walker, commander of the Washington National Guard, told CNN on Saturday that out-of-state soldiers would start as soon as Monday.

Similar steps were taken in Los Angeles. According to a senior law enforcement official, the city will see much less National Guard presence on the streets.

"You are not going to see the National Guard on the street," said the official. "But they will be here on standby and ready to be deployed."

Floyd receives tribute near his birthplace

A public tribute to Floyd will take place in Houston on Monday. Floyd's body arrived in town on Saturday night, according to a statement from the public relations firm that handles the event.

A private funeral and burial will take place on Tuesday. Floyd will be buried alongside his mother, according to the statement. Floyd pleaded for her when a Minneapolis police officer knelt on her neck.

Before Floyd's tribute in Houston, hundreds attended a Floyd's coffin vigil in Raeford, North Carolina, near where he was born.

Floyd died last month after pleading for his life as former Minneapolis agent Derek Chauvin pressed his knee to the man's neck.

Chauvin is expected to appear in court in Minneapolis on Monday.

Chauvin has been charged with second degree manslaughter and third degree murder. Prosecutors later filed the most serious second-degree murder charge.

The other three officers involved in Floyd's death, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao, were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree killings and second-degree manslaughter.

In a tribute to Floyd on Saturday, the Rev. Christopher D. Stackhouse spoke about the protests across the country, saying it was "Floyd who lit the fuse that is going to change this nation."

CNN's Josh Campbell and Aaron Cooper reported from Minneapolis, while Dakin Andone and Christina Maxouris reported and wrote this story in Atlanta. CNN's Nicole Chavez, Hollie Silverman, Jennifer Henderson and Alta Spells, Maggie Fox and Kristen Holmes contributed to this report.

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