Trust Me, Minneapolis Is Right to Defund Its Police Force

I spent 18 years as a police officer, and I know anti-bias training won’t be enough

Minneapolis police watch the protests outside the Minneapolis Police Department’s Third Precinct. Photo: Star Tribune via Getty Images

When I watch the current wave of protests against police violence on TV, I can’t help but think back to the demonstrations of 2015 following the death of Freddie Gray. I was in Baltimore then, on the streets as an officer in the Baltimore Police Department. I witnessed firsthand the anger and pain on the faces of protestors. I watched protestors shout, “No justice, no peace,” and carry signs that read “Black Lives Matter” and “Stop Killer Cops.” I stood alongside cops and National Guard troops who were prepared for a physical confrontation. I would go home at the end of each day feeling drained emotionally and physically. I understood the protesters’ anguish, and I knew I had contributed to their pain and anger. And so I am cautiously optimistic, five years later, to see the Minneapolis City Council announce that it intends to dismantle the police department in response to the death of George Floyd. If we are to see any real change to our criminal justice system, it will take actions as radical as this.

Months after the 2015 protests, after both the city and the Justice Department reviewed the Baltimore PD and offered recommendations for reform, we implemented things like body-worn…