Minneapolis residents have sued the city regarding its rise in violent crime, arguing the city is not adequately policing its communities. This was entirely predictable given the city’s refusal to combat the lawlessness in its streets and its commitment to abolish its own Police Department.
Don Samuels, a former member of the Minneapolis City Council, has said that children in his neighborhood can’t even go outside due to the sharp increase in violent crimes. “We have made the emotional appeal,” Samuels said. “We have demonstrated the statistical uptick, and now, this is the legal action we are exercising because it seems as if the City Council cannot hear us and doesn’t feel what we feel.”
Minneapolis has seen violent crime of every type rise this year. Assaults, robberies, burglaries, car theft, arson, and homicides have all risen when compared with 2019. More people were killed in the city between January and September than all of last year.
Minneapolis leaders allowed violence to persist in the city after George Floyd’s killing to the tune of more than $500 million in damages. Instead of taking steps simply to reform the Police Department while maintaining order in the streets, the City Council jumped headfirst into the far-left fantasy of dismantling its Police Department.
The City Council backed down on abolishing its own Police Department when it realized it was a stupid idea. Instead of owning it, council members said their promise to dismantle the Police Department was “in spirit” and that the language of their pledge was “up to interpretation.” But the city is still pushing forward with a $14 million budget cut on top of an initial $1.5 million reduction earlier this summer.
Minneapolis residents have learned the hard way that their City Council is incompetent, as it has failed them at every turn during this saga. The city refused to keep its residents safe as buildings were lit on fire, bowed to delusional demands of left-wing activists rather than pursuing meaningful reforms, and now is focused more on stripping funds from its Police Department than the crime wave that continues apace.
Minneapolis residents deserve better, and in the future, they should remember how their City Council has failed them. There is no president or senator who can solve this problem. Residents of the city are going to have to decide if they have had enough incompetence from their leaders or if they prefer to become a Midwestern version of Portland’s chaos.
