Friday, November 13, 2020

Complete 180

Say, remember when the Minneapolis City Council vowed to de-fund the city's police force in the aftermath of George Floyd dying while in MPD custody?


Good times.


Minneapolis City Council narrowly approved a plan Friday that allows the city to bring in outside police officers to help amid a shortage.

The additional officers — likely from the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office and Metro Transit Police — would help the city respond to 911 calls and violent hot spots amid a rise in violent crime.

The proposal drew a fiery discussion when it went through a council committee earlier this week but passed Friday without any further discussion.

Police Chief Medaria Arradondo has said he needs 20 to 40 additional officers to help while “our city is bleeding” and “resources are hemorrhaging.”

Earlier this week, some council members pressed Arradondo for details on how an additional $500,000 — the amount of money requested — would allow them to reduce violent crime when the department is already focused on patrolling.

The proposal was approved 7-6 and now heads to Mayor Jacob Frey, who has said he supports it.

This is the kind of self-inflicted wound proggie activists inevitably bring on when they actually attain elected office. It's easy to shriek for major overhauls when shouting from the proverbial peanut gallery. However, when you have actual constituents who are going to suffer real world consequences due to your making emotionally-charged decisions (while enjoying perks which shield you from said consequences), you're going to get significant push-back. And when push-back occurs, you just lay blame at the feet of the very individuals whom you've been denigrating for the past several months. 

I guess one can hardly blame MCC president Lisa Bender for wanting to jump ship from the quagmire she helped create. I'm sure a lucrative social justice gig will greet her once she moves on from the city council next year. 

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