Police officers are leaving the Minneapolis Police Department in droves because they feel “helpless” amid the city’s skyrocketing crime, according to one who left the force last year.
“This goes back before George Floyd,” former Minneapolis police officer Steve Dykstra told Fox News on Tuesday. “Since around 2015, I know the city of Minneapolis has been backpedaling, taking tools away from police to enforce the law and keep the streets safe.”
Dykstra explained that the dwindling resources for cops in the streets was going on even before George Floyd’s death.
“They feel pretty helpless out there,” Dykstra said of the police who remain.
Crime has surged in Minneapolis during the year since Floyd’s death, for which reason the city has been seeking state and federal aid. There has been a 250% increase in gunshot victims in 2021 alone, according to recent data.
“Nearly 200 Minneapolis police officers have left the force in the wake of the death of Floyd, with many filing post-traumatic stress claims due to the civil unrest that followed. Minneapolis has seen at least 31 homicides this year, not including this weekend’s violence,” Fox News reported.
Leaders have recently been asking Minneapolis residents to stand up to violent crime. As The Daily Wire reported:
City and community leaders in Minneapolis are calling on residents to “stand up and speak out” against violent crime after a recent spate of shootings.
Violent crime has surged in the city following last year’s riots over the death of George Floyd and Black Lives Matter activists’ calls for defunding law enforcement. Violent crime surged 21% in 2020, and 2021 is threatening to continue that trend as police grapple with a string of shootings, the most recent resulting in two dead and eight injured.
Police went so far as to advise residents of the 3rd Precinct last summer to anticipate giving up their possessions to robbers. The Daily Wire reported last August:
Minneapolis Police informed residents of the city’s embattled 3rd Precinct to prepare for the giving up of their personal belongings to potential robbers and advised them to do as criminals say for their own safety.
According to a July 28 email provided to Alpha News MN that was also forwarded to The Daily Wire, the Minneapolis Police Department offered “prevention tips” to residents hoping to avoid being a victim of the skyrocketing cases of robbery and carjacking that have plagued the city since George Floyd’s death in May.
“Robberies and Carjacking’s [sic] have increased in our Precinct,” the email begins. “Cell phones, purses, and vehicles are being targeted. Some victims have been maced, dragged, assaulted, and some threatened with a gun. Most of these crimes have occurred north of 42nd St. E. 100 Robberies and 20 Carjackings have been reported to 3rd Precinct Police in July alone. Downtown and Southwest Minneapolis have seen an increase as well. We want those who live and work here to be safe!”