How Does Minneapolis Move Forward?
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The recent protests in Minneapolis have been both peaceful and destructive, with graffiti once again left marking businesses in Uptown.
The anger stems from the police killing of Amir Locke, a 22-year-old legal gun owner who was shot during a no-knock raid. Protesters have even been carrying signs accusing Mayor Jacob Frey of lying, because some of his campaign literature said he banned no-knock warrants. The protesters are calling for the mayor's resignation.
Additionally, in the immediate aftermath of the shooting that claimed Locke's life, Minneapolis police called him a suspect, even though he wasn't and he wasn't named in the warrant.
Tragedy struck the city again this last week, when 15-year-old Deshaun Hill was shot and killed in north Minneapolis. He was the quarterback of the Minneapolis North High School football team.
Not even two hours after Hill was shot Wednesday, a school bus driver was shot in the head on the north side. Three children under the age of 10 were on the bus at the time. The driver is expected to survive.
The next day, two men were found shot to death in a car just blocks from where Hill was killed.
The question now is: How does Minneapolis move forward amid profound concerns about the Minneapolis Police Department and yet another wave of violence?
Mayor Jacob Frey was a guest on WCCO Sunday Morning.
"No, we did not lie, and, no, I'm not going to resign," he said. "We just had an election a couple of mouths ago, the results were clear and we have a lot of work to do."
The events of the last few weeks have even revived the effort to replace the Minneapolis Police Department. In November, Minneapolis residents voted against an amendment that would have replaced the department with a Department of Public Safety.
Now, a new council member, Elliot Payne, who represents northeast Minneapolis, has proposed essentially the same thing. This proposal, however, would bypass voters and instead require a unanimous vote of the city council.
