It didn’t take an expert to recognize that the lawless “autonomous zones” that popped up during Black Lives Matter protests last summer were dangerous. So why is Minneapolis still allowing one?
On Saturday, a man was shot and killed in a Minneapolis autonomous zone called George Floyd Square. Police officers aren’t allowed into the zone; neither are white people. Residents of the neighborhood claim they have been threatened by autonomous zone residents. Others think that criminals are using the zone to evade arrest.
Feckless leadership in Portland and Seattle saw their autonomous zone issues stretch all the way from June to December. Both saw private businesses and private property occupied by a lawless group of “protesters” who banned police from working in the zone. Seattle’s autonomous zone saw four shootings in 10 days, resulting in two deaths.
It took six months for Portland and Seattle to deal with their autonomous zones. Minneapolis still hasn’t dealt with its own, though city leaders pledged to reopen it after the trial of police officer Derek Chauvin for Floyd’s death. Autonomous zone leaders have a list of demands they want the city to meet before they agree to leave. And they don’t want to leave until August at the earliest.
The Minneapolis City Council has no clue how to deal with its crime wave. After voting to support abolishing the city’s police department last year, it has approved new funds to hire more police officers. Homicides and violent crimes have spiked as the city still hasn’t regained control since the violent mass riots that followed Floyd’s death.
City leaders are too meek to admit their mistake and acknowledge that the city needs more law enforcement. Even the $6.4 million they approved to hire new police officers is just an attempt to stop the bleeding rather than address the problem. The city council stripped the police department of $8 million in December, an ill-advised decision if ever there was one.
Placating anti-police activists is not going to help the city address its crime problem. More officers and actual enforcement of the law is the answer. If city leaders had a spine, they would start with putting an end to the absurdity of law-defying autonomous zones. But they don’t, and the city’s issues will get worse before they get better.
