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'You Promised To Keep Us Safe': Community Member Calls On Minneapolis City Leaders To Respond To Uptick In Violence

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A former Minneapolis City Council member is once again calling on city leaders to respond to an uptick in violence on the city's north side.

Don Samuels used his social media platform to cry out for change right in the middle of a gun battle near his home in the Jordan neighborhood.

"My wife woke me up and said did you hear that," said Samuels.

Sitting on the front porch of his northside home, Don Samuels recalls the sounds of gunshots that interrupted his sleep.

"She called 911 and then very shortly after that there was another four or something like that and then I called 911. And while we're talking we heard another couple of bullets, " Samuels said.

It was during the exchange of bullets he took to social media, aiming his comments at city leaders.

"Your city is hailing bullets. Do you care? Will you act?" Samuel said in a post.

"You promised to keep us safe, you took the oath and your number one job as city leaders is the public safety for the citizens of Minneapolis, your number one job," Samuels said. "We are not safe, you're failing."

Samuels says politicians respond to agitation and so the community must become the number one agitators.

"I put all of the council member's emails on my Facebook page. I'm going to put their numbers. This is a matter of the squeaky wheel," said Samuels.

Samuels says the responsibility of safety in our communities falls on us all, to speak up about injustice no matter who the perpetrator is.

"These bullets flying at night that nobody hears, we are setting up the next George Floyd. While we're telling the police do not treat our young men like that we're telling them on the other side of our mouths but we don't value them anyway," Samuels said.

Samuels is one of several Jordan residents suing the city of Minneapolis for failure to protect them. They claim the city doesn't have the required number of police officers on the street as required by the city charter.

He hopes others get involved by calling city leaders and demanding change.

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