The Minneapolis Police Department is historically understaffed as they deal with the lowest level of uniformed personnel in four decades, according to the Star Tribune.
The city department has only 585 sworn officers and of the 22 cities, it has the lowest officer-to-population ratio, the Tribune reported.
The Minneapolis police department has also relied on other law enforcement partners as well as civilian analysts to help with some of their work.
In recent years, Minneapolis has experienced one of the worst police shortages in the US.
“This is completely unsustainable,” Minneapolis police Chief Brian O’Hara told the outlet. “Thank God for all the other agencies that are filling this gap.”
MPD is also too low for officers to restart their “community engagement units”, which are seen as a way to build trust between police and the community.
A police officer rushes forward as people protest the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis Police in front of the White House in Washington, DC.AFP via Getty Images
President Biden signs an executive order to reform federal and local policing on the second anniversary of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis police custody in Washington, DC, May 25, 2022. REUTERS
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara talks about how his department will comply with the DOJ investigation at a news conference, as Attorney General Merrick B. Garland (left) looks on. Star Tribune via Getty Images
“It’s unfortunate, but that’s what went away first,” O’Hara told the outlet. “We’re not going to change people’s perception of us — and we’re not going to have meaningful relationships with other people — if the only thing we do is respond from emergency to emergency to emergency.”
On some days, only four officers are responsible for patrolling large areas of the city, the Tribune reported.
Minneapolis voters rejected a measure in 2021 that would have replaced the MPD with the Department of Public Safety, which was voted down following the death of George Floyd in 2020.
Protesters march across the Brooklyn Bridge over the death of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police during a Juneteenth rally in New York on June 19, 2020. AFP via Getty Images
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland addresses the findings of the Justice Department’s investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department during a news conference in Minneapolis, MN, on June 16, 2023. AFP via Getty Images
Protesters can be seen together across the Brooklyn Bridge to protest the death of George Floyd. AFP via Getty Images
The Justice Department announced in June that an investigation into the police department, following Floyd’s death, found evidence of excessive use of force and racial discrimination.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said at the time that there was “reasonable cause to believe that MPD and the city of Minneapolis engaged in a pattern or practice of conduct in violation of the First and Fourth Amendments to the United States Constitution.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
