MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - On Dec. 4, Minneapolis police officers chased an alleged, armed carjacking suspect into the south Minneapolis intersection that residents and activists have been holding as an autonomous zone called George Floyd’s Square.
Several people gathered around the officers, yelling for them to be less rough with the suspect. The officers called for backup and 12 squad cars arrived, according to people who were there. Officers arrested one of the bystanders for obstructing justice.
The incident illustrates a tension that’s been simmering in the neighborhood and citywide as elected officials and community members try to reform public safety amid a sharp increase in violent crime.
The people holding the intersection say the show of force that night was excessive and an example of why police need to be reined in, or replaced altogether. It was traumatizing, they say, for a community that has watched police brutalize people of color - up close with the killing of George Floyd, but also in countless other cases locally and nationwide, year after year.
But others in the neighborhood say the incident is a perfect example of why the autonomous zone is a problem. Brazen carjackings and other crimes are on the rise, and police need to be able to do their jobs. Some believe people have used the square to evade arrest, since officers are not welcome there.
Whether the autonomous zone has had an effect on crime is unclear. Police data from May 26, when people first began gathering there, through November of this year show overall crime is up 16 percent in Ward 8, where the intersection is located, from the same time last year. Citywide, it’s up 3 percent, Minnesota Public Radio News reported.
But if you compare Ward 8 to Ward 5 in North Minneapolis, where residents are also complaining about an uptick in crime, Ward 5’s increase is sharper at 33 percent.
The picture changes if you look at only violent crime, which includes carjackings. Those are up 122 percent in Ward 8, compared to 30 percent in Ward 5 and 34 percent citywide. Ward 5, however, still saw nearly four times as many violent crimes than Ward 8.
“If George Floyd’s Square was the only reason for the increase in crime, then every place else in the city and in the country would have stable crime rates, and that is not the case,” said Ward 8 City Councilmember Andrea Jenkins.
The Council on Criminal Justice, a nonpartisan research organization, says homicides increased an average of 53 percent this year in 20 U.S. cities.
Jenkins said she thinks a combination of things are causing crime to rise in her ward, including growing desperation as the pandemic fuels unemployment, and what she called “lawlessness” at the top rungs of government.
Across the country and in Minneapolis, experts say the pandemic has hindered outreach efforts that typically deter crime. They’ve also kept people out of jobs and classrooms, which are effective diversions.
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