A group of Minneapolis residents has filed a lawsuit against the city arguing there aren’t enough police officers to keep the people safe.
The lawsuit contends that the city is not providing adequate levels of policing as set out in its own charter.
One former council member, Don Samuels, and his wife argued, according to Fox 9 Minneapolis, that “children can’t go outside right now as violent crimes including shootings, carjackings and murders have increased since the death of George Floyd.”
The council contends that they have maintained the proper level of sworn police officers dictated by the population.
Minneapolis residents are arguing in a lawsuit that there aren’t enough police patrolling the streets right now. https://t.co/bsJetSRkW3
— FOX 9 (@FOX9) October 20, 2020
RELATED: Minneapolis City Council Shocked By Surge In Crime – Two Months After Voting To Defund The Police
Minneapolis Police Officers Needed to Restore Law and Order
The lawsuit comes roughly three months after the Minneapolis City Council demonized and voted to defund the city’s police department.
Democrat lawmakers made the Minneapolis Police Department out to be the enemy of the people in the wake of the George Floyd riots.
Officers were accused of brutalizing harmless innocents while the department was called a ‘cancer’ that needed to be cut out.
When this whole thing fails, take note that Congresswoman Ilhan Omar also supports the dismantling of the Minneapolis Police Department. pic.twitter.com/cW3O745oq5
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) June 8, 2020
“I will never cosign on funding a police department that continues to brutalize us,” Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) said to a cheering mob in June.
“And I will never stop saying not only do we need to disinvest in police, but we need to completely dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department.”
In July, the council followed Omar’s lead, taking numerous steps to dismantle the department, including an amendment to remove $1 million from their budget and reallocate it toward hiring “violence interrupters.”
Residents argued that their decisions could be costing people their lives.
“This is like all they are focused on is having a reimagined police department while we’re focused on staying alive,” one petitioner stated.
#NEW: At a hearing earlier today: North Minneapolis residents speak after filing lawsuit against Minneapolis City Council and Mayor. They’re demanding more transparency & for the city to fund and employ enough police officers – as crime rates rise in the area. @kare11 pic.twitter.com/jBLVgePh43
— Charmaine Nero (@CNeroTV) October 19, 2020
RELATED: Trump Accuses Biden of Being Anti-Police, Surrendering to Flag Burners and Arsonists
The Familiar Refrain
At a meeting last month to address a surge in violent crimes – which Fox News reports include daylight carjackings, robberies, assaults, and shootings – council members noted there had been a precipitous drop in police action.
Ahem… the Minneapolis city council members who pushed to defund the police are wondering where they are during the city’s time of need. Typical Democrats. pic.twitter.com/kTkIU1EJMD
— robjh1: The Conservative Black Cowboy (@robjh1) September 17, 2020
“Residents are asking, ‘Where are the police?'” a confused Jamal Osman, Council Member, asked.
Osman claimed phone calls to the police were going unanswered.
“That is the only public safety option [constituents] have at the moment. MPD. They rely on MPD,” he said. “And they are saying they are nowhere to be seen.”
Now, facing a lawsuit, they’re arguing that the staffing meets city requirements.
Samuels contends that city attorneys “told the judge the lawsuit has no standing because none of the plaintiffs have been hit by gunfire.”
“To get standing we need to take a bullet, right? We’ve seen our neighbors take bullets. We know the 20-year-old, we know the six-month-old who’s in the car when her mom gets shot up,” his wife seethed.
One resident echoed a familiar refrain heard from President Trump on the campaign trail.
“We are here because of people’s safety, community activist Cathy Spann said. “We want law and order. We want reform. But we are in this city to say, enough is enough.”
