'Prone kills kids,' advocate tells state lawmakers as they look to undo restraint ban that prompted police brass to pull cops from schools in protest.

Nearly four years after George Floyd suffocated to death while being pinned face down to the pavement by a police officer, Minnesota Democrats are fast-tracking legislation that would undo a less-than-year-old ban prohibiting school-based cops from using that same type of restraint on students.

As early as Monday, the state’s House of Representatives is slated to consider a proposal that presents a drastic departure from provisions approved by Democratic Gov. Tim Walz — rules that explicitly barred school resource officers from using face-down “prone restraint.”

The ban was part of a broader police reform movement that followed Floyd’s murder. The fatal physical hold led to the largest civil rights protest in U.S. history, a national reckoning on racism, policy reforms that sought to address police brutality and, in Minneapolis and dozens of districts nationwide, the removal of sworn officers from school campuses. In Minnesota, new state rules barred police officers from using chokeholds on people and prone restraints were banned in the state’s prisons.

Now, as the state’s Democrats make a 180-degree turn on the campus reform, education equity advocates have accused state leaders of falling to the political pressure of law enforcement groups ahead of a November election where party lawmakers seek to maintain their narrow majority in the state House. The proposal cleared the House Ways and Means committee earlier this week.

Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20240304131847/https://www.the74million.org/article/minnesota-dems-push-to-repeal-school-ban-on-restraint-that-killed-george-floyd/

  • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
    6112·
    9 months ago

    We need to stop pretending neoliberals are part of the democratic party.

    For decades they have been invading the only left wing party and dragging it to the right.

    That’s why they get the same corporate donations as Republicans. They want the same shit, and donors buying off both parties guarantees donors always win.

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
      183·
      9 months ago

      Unfortunately, a lot of the country will only vote for Democrats who barely dip their toe into the left side of the spectrum to throw people a bone on occasion.

      That’s the only way a Democrat got elected to the Senate in West Virginia. It was Joe Manchin.

      I hate it so much.

      • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
        116·
        9 months ago

        That’s the only way a Democrat got elected to the Senate in West Virginia. It was Joe Manchin.

        If you ignore history…

        https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_senators_from_West_Virginia

        In 2015 a Republican became senator, the last Republican before that left office in 1959.

        Granted, Manchin got Byrd’s seat after 50 years, and Byrd had pretty much the views you’d expect for a Senator that started in 1959.

        But the recent change is Republican senators from WV.

        • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
          91·
          9 months ago

          I don’t think that really disproves my point when Byrd’s politics were not too far from Manchin’s.

          • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
            93·
            9 months ago

            Byrd largely turned around though…

            Hell, 34 years ago he was more progressive than Biden:

            In early 1990, Byrd proposed an amendment granting special aid to coal miners who would lose their jobs in the event that Congress passed clean air legislation. Byrd was initially confident in the number of votes he needed to secure its passage being made available but this was prevented by a vote from Democrat Joe Biden who said the measure’s passage would mean an assured veto by President Bush

            https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Byrd#George_H._W._Bush_era

            Now Manchin is holding up the party on addressing climate change.

            And the Dem the Republican took over from was against the Iraq war, for healthcare reform, and endorsed Obama during the 08 primary.

            Manchin is more conservative that the last two WV Senators before him, and they were elected in the 50s.

            Manchin is a backslide

      • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
        2·
        9 months ago

        That’s the only way a Democrat got elected to the Senate in West Virginia. It was Joe Manchin.

        Manchin comes from an obscenely wealthy coal family in the state. He could have run under either party and won in a landlord landslide based on that alone.

        He just got more concessions from the Democrats, who were more than happy to trade away legislative priorities for a Senate Majority.

    • Amaltheamannen@lemmy.ml
      83·
      9 months ago

      The Democratic Party is a neoliberal political party. Anything to the left is the rare exception.

        • thesilverpig@lemmy.world
          31·
          9 months ago

          unfortunately the democratic rank and file seem to have a humiliation kink cause the party heads keep humiliating their base and the base keeps voting for them.

          • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
            4·
            9 months ago

            That’s not really how it works…

            Party leadership is decided by an open vote of about 450 people/organizations.

            Some is elected officials like president, senator, and a shit ton of mayors. Some political organizations, ex Members, random ass people who are usually donors

            But it’s an open vote, and the people running usually cutthroat.

            So if you don’t toe the party line, the party might not support you later.

            That’s when they do get to vote. There was like 30 years where no vote was held, people were just appointed.

            The system is way more fucked up than most people realize. And it’s designed to hold onto all their power while presenting the illusion of democracy