Minneapolis Repeals Laws Against Spitting and Lurking

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Minneapolis has wiped away laws that banned lurking and spitting, responding to critics who said they unfairly targeted minorities.

The Minneapolis City Council voted 12-1 on Friday to repeal the ordinances. Mayor Betsy Hodges called the ordinances antiquated and unnecessary.

Council President Barb Johnson cast the lone no vote. She said the lurking law allowed police to stop people before they committed crimes in neighborhoods like the north side ward she represents.

But advocacy groups targeted the ordinances after high-profile shootings in other cities raised tension between police and citizens.

A recent American Civil Liberties Union report found that people arrested for low-level crimes in Minneapolis were nearly nine times more likely to be black or Native American than white.