Minneapolis police see 44 arrests in first two days of Operation Safe Summer

A weeklong collaboration between the Minneapolis Police Department and other law enforcement agencies to target hot spots of violent crime in the city has netted 44 arrests in its first two days.

So far, Operation Safe Summer has also led to the seizure of 14 firearms and 61 grams of fentanyl. The past two summer operations each generated around a hundred arrests and the seizure of 38 firearms.

“At least in Minneapolis, we’ve turned a corner,” Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said at the operation’s Wednesday roll-call meeting. “It’s very, very clear that the residents in this city want police protection, they want good policing.”

This year’s effort comes after a violent weekend in Minneapolis, with multiple shootings and a stabbing that led to three homicide investigations. In previous years, the operation has convened earlier in the summer, but was delayed after the slaying of officer Jamal Mitchell in June.

The number of gunshot-wound victims in Minneapolis is up 5% this year, at 215 compared to 204 incidents by end of July 2023. The department’s Fourth Precinct has seen the most gun violence, with 79 shootings, down from 96 in 2023 and 126 in 2022. The Second and Third precincts have seen higher numbers of shootings, from five to 14 and 43 to 57, respectively. Overall, rates still remain higher than they were before the pandemic.

Minneapolis police have recovered 537 guns, down 23% from 697 guns recovered at this point in 2023.

“The most important issues tackled in Minneapolis and every city around the country is gun violence,” Mayor Jacob Frey said. “It’s making sure that people feel safe in community.”

Frey said he attended the roll call to show support for local law enforcement, particularly after the Minneapolis City Council passed a new police contract which increased salaries by 22% for veteran officers and created a starting salary of $90,000 for new officers.

This year, the operation is focusing on several “service hot spots,” including 36th and Penn avenues N., W. 29th Street and Pillsbury Avenue, 15th-19th streets and Nicollet Avenue, and 15th Avenue S.

One of the most important aspects of the effort, O’Hara said, is the investigative efforts into areas with “problematic” violence and into specific individuals. Arrests are not random, he said, but a targeted and focused effort to continue the city’s decreasing violence in previous years.

“We’re really doing intelligence-led policing,” said Maj. Rick Palaia of the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office. Palaia said its intelligence teams helped identify the recent trend of juvenile park takeovers, a social media fueled trend where hundreds of teens gather at area parks for gatherings that quickly become disorderly.

On Tuesday, the Sheriff’s Office arrested a 34-year-old man on suspicion of felony second-degree assault, fleeing an officer and concealing stolen property after he fled law enforcement in a stolen vehicle and repeatedly rammed it into a law enforcement vehicle before he ran. He then broke into a home and threatened its residents with a knife, and was apprehended after three hours of crisis negotiation with law enforcement.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is once again a part of the operation, this year with its violent crime reduction unit. The new 17-person team was established with funding passed this legislative session. The BCA is also leveraging its new forensic laboratory unit called First Forensic Intelligence Response Systems Testing in this year’s operation to improve front-end processing for evidence.

“For Minnesota to be a thriving state, Minneapolis needs to be a thriving community and so we’ll partner with the city of Minneapolis to do that and make sure it’s a safe summer,” BCA Superintendent Drew Evans said.