Minneapolis' North Side council members urge mayor to do more on preventing violence

Reeling from another night of gunfire that left a child wounded on the North Side, two Minneapolis City Council members who represent the area stood on a street corner Tuesday to urge the mayor to take a more aggressive approach to reducing the violence.

"We are talking about a crisis in our city. We are talking about a crisis on the North Side. We are talking about, right now, three young children in our community shot, fighting for their lives," said Council Member Jeremiah Ellison, referring to the shootings in recent weeks of Aniya Allen, 6; Ladavionne Garrett Jr., 10; and Trinity Ottoson-Smith, 9.

The increasing violence is exacting a toll on residents, whose frustrations are boiling over amid what some see as paralysis in City Hall. Divisions in city government are running deep as re-election campaigns kick off and city leaders debate what role law enforcement plays in a new public safety system after George Floyd's death.

Ellison said he supports parts of a violence prevention plan Mayor Jacob Frey unveiled Monday but believes the city should also boost youth programs. He and Council Member Phillipe Cunningham called on the city to follow through with a plan laid out last fall to target violence prevention programs to the North Side.

"It does not dismiss the role of law enforcement for us to demand a comprehensive approach to public safety," Cunningham said. "We deserve a more comprehensive plan than simply adding more police or focusing on police reforms. We have to take the politics out of it and come up with solutions that utilize every resource available."

As they spoke, the crowd grew at the corner of Penn and Lowry — just eight blocks from where Frey unveiled his own plan a day earlier. While some applauded their efforts, others expressed frustration.

The Rev. Jerry McAfee of the New Salem Missionary Baptist Church walked through the crowd of cameras to address the council members directly and hand down a demand.

"We need y'all to get the rest of the City Council members and get with the mayor — whatever that thing is y'all agree on, merge that stuff before the end of the week and bring back marching orders to your people," McAfee said.

"Right now, you guys are creating just as much division as we got on the block."

As he spoke, some in the crowd shouted "Amen."

While the city's elected leaders tend to agree on the broad concepts — expanding anti-violence programs, looking at whether civilians could handle some calls — discussions about how to implement proposals have become heated and personal.

At Frey's own news conference Monday, where he, too, was confronted by frustrated residents, the mayor outlined a broad plan to coordinate with the state to end traffic stops for low-level offenses and boost gun investigations, while increasing city funding for police overtime and violence prevention programs.

On social media, Cunningham accused the mayor of failing to support an effort to boost violence prevention efforts on the North Side last fall, saying, "bc the Mayor refused to support it, MPD hasn't been compelled to invest the needed resources."

On Tuesday, Cunningham and Ellison took a slightly softer tone.

Last fall, the City Council passed a measure instructing staff to lead a pilot program in the area covered by the city's Fourth Precinct and to "seek out additional sources of funding to cover expenses related to the pilot."

"This work has not made any progress since it passed," Cunningham said Tuesday.

Asked why, Cunningham said the city needs a dedicated police officer to share intelligence and connect people with social services, as well as coordinate enforcement efforts throughout the police department. Ellison said they had been told — primarily by the police chief, but also by some police inspectors — that the department couldn't afford an officer to do that work.

Police spokesman John Elder said the department has "long supported" the expansion of violence intervention programs, but he told elected leaders "we'd like the resources to do it."

Frey's office said in a statement that the mayor shares those sentiments and has told Cunningham that increasing those violence prevention programs requires "significant participation from police, which is not possible with such diminished numbers."

"The mayor has repeatedly stated, both on record and privately, he maintains an open invitation for council members to collaborate on investment of resources in the communities they serve," the statement said. "There are, however, significant elements of such investments that are simply incompatible with defunding the police department as some on the council have pushed to do."

Since Floyd's death last year, at least 169 officers have left the department. Elected leaders have trimmed its budget to $171 million this year from $193 million at the start of 2020, with the caveat that police could access some additional money in reserves.

Staff writers Paul Walsh and Libor Jany contributed to this report.

Liz Navratil • 612-673-4994