Minneapolis sued again over police staffing
The Upper Midwest Law Center wants the city to hire an additional 100 officers.
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A conservative legal group has again filed a lawsuit against the city of Minneapolis, hoping to pressure the city to hire more police officers more quickly.
The lawsuit alleges Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has failed for four-and-a-half years to comply with a Minnesota Supreme Court decision that found the city is required by its charter to employ 731 officers.
The Minneapolis charter requires 17 police officers for every 10,000 residents. The city currently employs 617 sworn police officers, with another 32 going through the police academy.
The Upper Midwest Law Center filed the suit on Monday on behalf of four Twin Cities residents, two of whom live in the suburbs but own property in Minneapolis. The group wants the city to hire 100 additional officers.
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Managing Attorney Rachel Paulose said during a Tuesday press conference that the lawsuit aimed to “protect the citizens of Minneapolis, call the mayor to account and enforce the rule of law.”
“In a civilized society, employing an adequate police force is the difference between utter lawlessness and an orderly community,” Paulose said. “That chaos has led to real harm for real people.”
Hundreds of officers left the department following George Floyd’s 2020 murder by a police officer.
The Upper Midwest Law Center previously sued the city that year for not maintaining staffing levels required by the city’s charter, resulting in the state Supreme Court decision ordering the city to comply. The group dropped the previous suit in 2022 because they believed the city was moving in the right direction.
Paulose said they’ve tried to work amicably with the city on police staffing levels but didn’t make progress.
Minneapolis resident and plaintiff Ronald Peterson said at the press conference he’s been a south Minneapolis resident for over 30 years and had his garage burgled and vehicle damaged since Floyd’s killing.
“I don’t go driving out at night. I don’t go to the grocery store after night,” Peterson said. “I think the chance of being a crime victim are very high.”
City spokesperson Jess Olstad said the city rejects the group’s allegations. She said city leaders have made police recruitment a priority, which she said has resulted in significant progress on staffing levels, including being on pace to have more than 700 officers in 2027.
“Minneapolis has the most diverse police force in our history, saw a record number of applications from people wanting to join the department this past year and has continued to keep violent crime down,” Olstad said. “All this in a time when other cities across the country are seeing a decrease in police officers.”
Minneapolis also has invested more money in recruitment efforts and approved pay increases for officers, which makes them among the highest paid police officers in the state.
