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Hodges Talks Jamar Clark, Working Families Agenda & What's In Store For 2016

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – After a tumultuous year in Minneapolis, Mayor Betsy Hodges spoke with WCCO-TV's Esme Murphy about the events of 2015 and what's in store for the city in the coming year.

In an interview on WCCO Sunday Morning, Hodges addressed a number of topics, including the Jamar Clark shooting, the Working Families Agenda, bringing body cameras to the city's police department and a wager she had with the mayor of Seattle over the Vikings-Seahawks playoff match.

The interview can be watched in full above.

Jamar Clark

Following the fatal police shooting of a 24-year-old black man in November, Black Lives Matter protesters occupied the 4th Precinct police station in north Minneapolis for more than two weeks.

Protesters said that Clark was seen in handcuffs before being shot in the head. Police dispute that, saying there was a struggle for an officer's gun.

In the days the followed, Hodges came under attack from her progressive supporters as well as the police union. She was also criticized for keeping a low profile as events developed.

On Sunday, the mayor said she was focused on one goal during the days of the occupation.

"Every morning I woke up with public safety – of everybody involved – in mind," she said. "My goal was to make sure that everybody was as safe as possible every single day."

Hodges said that although her office's actions didn't get a lot of media attention, she was meeting daily with protesters, Clark's family and police.

"It didn't happen by accident that we had a peaceful resolution," Hodges said.

The occupation of the 4th Precinct ended in early December, with police clearing out the protesters. Eight people were arrested in the process.

Meanwhile, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and federal authorities are investigating Clark's death.

Working Families Agenda

In October, Hodges gave up on her initiative to get all employers in the city to schedule their workers at least two weeks in advance.

Large and small businesses in the city pushed back against the proposal, which was part of Hodges' Working Families Agenda. Later, the mayor conceded that her administration couldn't come up for an answer to the complicated scheduling problem.

"We didn't find a way to solve the problem of bad actors while at the same time not penalizing good actors," she said.

Meanwhile, the mayor is moving forward with the part of the agenda that seeks to get paid sick leave for all city workers.

"It's a public health issue for everyone in the city if you show up sick to work," Hodges said.

A working group – consisting of advocates, business leaders and workers – is slated to present recommendations on implementing paid sick leave next month.

Body Cameras

In her budget for 2016, the mayor set aside $1 million for police body cameras – something the police union supports.

Hodges says the technology is important because it provides the city with significant information in the event of a case like the Jamar Clark shooting.

"What other cities have found…is that it does reduce the use of force and it does reduce complaints, because officers and members of the community can be either indicted or exonerated by the evidence on the camera," she said.

The mayor added that she's championed the investment in body cameras since before taking office.

Looking Forward

In addition to getting body cameras city police, Hodges also wants to address the racial and economic disparities in the city.

She said there will be initiatives in 2016 to help children get a head start on their education, training programs to help adults in minority communities find jobs in the tech field, and a mentorship program where young men of color meet with middle school students to help guide them to success.

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