Minnesota Orchestra cuts ties with Minneapolis police, calls for Kroll's resignation

Add the Minnesota Orchestra to the list of organizations cutting ties with the Minneapolis Police Department following the killing of George Floyd at the hands of its officers.

The nonprofit announced Friday that it "will no longer engage Minneapolis Police Department officers to provide security at orchestra concerts until the MPD implements fundamental changes."

It went further, joining with the Twin Cities Musicians Union in calling for the resignation of Minneapolis police union president Lt. Bob Kroll, whom many current and former city leaders have described as a major barrier to reforming the department.

On social media, the orchestra pledged to "disrupt our own role in systemic racism."

Violist Sam Bergman tweeted about the changes, saying that he's part of an internal team that has been working on a racial equity plan for months.

"We're dead serious about reducing our reliance on and reproduction of white privilege," he said. "We're years behind where we need to be, but it has to start somewhere, and we're starting."