'This City Is Bleeding': Judge Allows 'Minneapolis 8' Lawsuit To Move Forward
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A lawsuit filed by a group of Minneapolis residents against the city will move forward.
Cathy Spann is one of the Minneapolis 8, who are suing the city for not providing protection against gun violence.
"This is big, this is big," Spann said.
She says her coalition of neighbors in the Jordan neighborhood are happy a judge is moving the case forward.
"The judge says no dismissal, I need more information, more discovery from the city of Minneapolis," Spann said.
The Minneapolis city charter calls for at least 743 officers working on city streets. So far, the city has not given an exact number of officers serving and protecting residents.
"Residents homes are being shot up, cars are being shot up. Innocent children, 2 years old, 11 year old [were] shot, we have had carjackings," Spann said.
More than 500 people have been shot city wide this year, many in the Jordan neighborhood. The Minneapolis 8 blame the uptick in violence on a lack of police protection.
"We are asking for transformation of the police department, the culture of the police department. But right now, today, with communities such as Jordan that are under siege with gun violence, what we are asking is that we need public safety while transformation is occurring," Spann said.
The city of Minneapolis responded in a statement saying, "This recent decision only means that the judge ruled that the plaintiffs have standing to file this lawsuit. We will continue to defend the City on this matter, and we're confident the City will be found to have met the City Charter's police funding requirements."
The Minneapolis 8 say they are not only fighting for their families, neighbors and friends, but for the entire city of Minneapolis.
"And it is not just Jordan. It is the north side of Minneapolis. It is the south side of Minneapolis. It is the downtown businesses," Spann said. "Come on, this city is bleeding."
The city and the Minneapolis 8 must submit a discovery plan to the court. After that, an evidentiary hearing will be scheduled to offer testimony and other evidence. That hearing will take place early next year.
