Officials might bring in officers from nearby jurisdictions to aid the Minneapolis Police Department’s response to increasing violent crimes, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Monday.
Police officers from the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office and Metro Transit Police will temporarily work with the Minneapolis Police Department if the measure is approved by the City Council and Democratic Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, according to the Tribune. The city has experienced a recent increase in violent crime, with 74 reported homicides just this year.
“We’re not gonna be having these people out taking bicycle theft reports. These are going to be people out combating crime issues,” Minneapolis Police Department spokesperson John Elder said, the Tribune reported.
The council members vowed to end the Minneapolis Police Department, but six months later, that has not happened — and there’s a good chance it never will. https://t.co/bqom2QNaRz
— Globalnews.ca (@globalnews) November 4, 2020
The officers would work on Joint Enforcement Teams to respond to reports of violence, according to Elder, the Tribune reported. The teams would be deployed beginning Nov. 15 through the end of the year.
“We’re barely able to cover the shifts that we have,” City Council Member Linea Palmisano said, the Tribune reported. “We really can’t allocate additional police officers for on-duty shifts.”
Palmisano supports the increase in law enforcement officials and hopes the city will incorporate funds to continue the teams in next year’s budget, according to the Tribune. Frey’s office said he supports the measure.
The city would take an estimated $497,000 out of the contingency fund to reimburse the departments for their officers, according to the Tribune. (RELATED: ‘You Can Hear Gunshots’: Minneapolis Residents Sue City For Failing To Adequately Staff Police Amid Crime Surge)
Several officers resigned after George Floyd died while in the custody of former Minneapolis police officers in May, according to the Tribune. Civil unrest in Minneapolis has strained police department resources, and some officers have made claims of experiencing PTSD.
Multiple city council members previously supported “ending” the police department after Floyd died, the Tribune reported.
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