The officers shared with Minnesota senators their experiences responding to the arson fires and looting in Minneapolis that followed large protests after George Floyd's killing at the hands of ex-police officer Derek Chauvin and said extreme dips in morale following the death had profound impacts among their ranks.
The hearing was the latest held by a joint Minnesota Senate panel tasked with probing the damage that resulted from the "lawlessness" following Floyd's death.
And in a four-hour hearing that focused on protesters' occupation of freeways and the police response to civil unrest in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Republican lawmakers said they would bring legislation increasing penalties for demonstrating on freeways and call for answers from state and local leaders who they felt were responsible for the destruction.
Democrats on the panel, meanwhile, said lawmakers should focus on the issue that fueled civil unrest: the killing of Floyd after Chauvin for almost eight minutes knelt on his neck while Floyd and bystanders pleaded for help.
Minneapolis Police Officer Rich Walker Sr. on Tuesday condemned Chauvin's actions and said the bad acts of a handful of officers shouldn't ruin the reputation of an entire department. And he, along with Minneapolis Sgts. Sherral Schmidt and Anna Hedberg, shared their experience with the committee about living through days of arson fires and riots in Minneapolis.
"The truth is the leaders of Minneapolis failed Minneapolis," Walker said. "We would've gave the ultimate sacrifice before we gave up our building, that's what we stand for, that's what we put out on the street every day. Officers are well aware that somebody could've lost a life there and I guarantee you will not find one Minneapolis cop that wouldn't have sacrificed their life to save that building."
Walker, Schmidt and Hedberg are directors of the Minneapolis Police Federation, the officers' union, and said officers had riot gear that they'd wanted to wear into the riots, but they said they were asked not to wear the gear so as to not inflame tensions. And that caused injuries as demonstrators lobbed bottles, rocks and other projectiles.
“We could’ve defended that precinct, we could’ve defended that part of Lake Street if we had the resources,” Hedberg said.
Schmidt said she was asked to remove cameras from the Third Precinct to avoid potential damage to the equipment and Walker said he was told to clear his locker from the precinct. Those moves came hours before the building was looted and burned on May 28.
The trio said they spoke for fellow officers and represented the Minneapolis Police Union. And they said officers were frustrated to learn after community members that the city planned to abandon the police precinct hours before dozens of officers defended it and later had to abandon the building as it was set ablaze. They also said morale among officers had plummeted and the department, along with community members and other stakeholders should have a serious conversation about trust in police.
The Department of Public Safety last week told the panel that the state was preparing to activate hundreds of National Guard members early that week to assist police officers in Minneapolis. But efforts to scale up forces to the extent that was needed took days. The state took control of the situation in Minneapolis May 29, deploying more than 7,000 National Guard members, the largest operation since World War II.
New penalties possible
The panel also took testimony Wednesday about freeway closure in late May that were spurred by groups of hundreds of demonstrators spilling onto the roadways.
State Patrol Col. Matt Langer said troopers went into "triage" mode that day as two protests at U.S. Bank Stadium and the state Capitol grew in size Sunday, May 31, and appeared as though the could move to the freeway. And they, along with the Department of Transportation and Department of Public Safety, moved to close the freeway before 8 p.m. that evening to prevent potentially dangerous situations for demonstrators or drivers.
“Whenever there’s a breach of the freeway by a group that wishes to demonstrate or protest that is a harrowing experience as traffic safety officials,” Langer said. “It shaves years off our life because we’re quite concerned that someone is going to get hurt.”
The move to close off the freeway prevented serious injuries or fatalities, Langer said.
Republicans on the panel said they would bring forth stiffer penalties for demonstrators that enter roadways, in an effort to prevent further blockages.
“People are sick and tired of this, absolutely sick and tired of this,” Sen. David Senjem, R-Rochester, said. “I think we need to look at some consequences or we’re going to have this on a repeated basis. We can’t make this a casual occurrence.”
But Democrats said lawmakers should instead look to what is fueling the unrest if they want to prevent demonstrators from entering roadways.
“They took to the streets because they wanted their actions to be heard by Minnesotans," Sen. Melissa Franzen, D-Edina, said. “Let’s talk about how do we avoid it. How do we avoid another killing of a black man? Because that actually happened on a public street by a public servant. How do we avoid that?"
"avoid it" - Google News
July 16, 2020 at 04:00AM
https://ift.tt/3j5FCvd
City leaders 'failed Minneapolis,' officers reflect on loss of Third Precinct - Duluth News Tribune
"avoid it" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3844a1y
https://ift.tt/2SzWv5y
No comments:
Post a Comment