Minneapolis City Council Approves $5M In Overtime For Police Department
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The Minneapolis City Council on Thursday approved $5 million to pay for police overtime.
Last week, Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo made the funding request to help cover some of what the department projected to be $9.5 million in total overtime costs this year. The council reserved money in a special staffing account to have more oversight over police funding, and tapping into it requires approval.
"MPD estimates the full amount of the reserve at $5 million will be needed to meet the overtime demands in 2021," Arradondo said.
Overtime during ex-MPD officer Derek Chauvin's murder trial for the killing of George Floyd last spring totaled $2.9 million, though the police department did not factor that into its proposal for city council, according to documents.
The calculation of an additional $5 million — on top of $3.5 million already appropriated for overtime costs during this budget year — is based on the city's reduced police force, Arradondo said.
MPD was down to 632 active officers through the end of May. That's a 25% drop from 845 police in 2020. As of last week, 60 officers are on disability leave.
This comes against a backdrop of an uptick in crime in the city. Deputy Chief Erick Fors told the committee that the number of gunshot victims has more than doubled from this point last year to this year, increasing from 116 to 259. Homicides have increased by 81% over the same time period.
