A Minneapolis restaurant owner, disheartened by the attitude toward the police that has crippled the city in the wake of the death of George Floyd, stated bluntly in the face of those calling for the defunding of police departments, “We need more police.”
The video segment of the owner followed Fox News’ Tucker Carlson delineating the rise in homicides around the country and the murder of children, from 9-year-old Janari Ricks in Chicago to the worst rise in shootings in Portland, Oregon, in 30 years to more shootings in New York City in 2020 than all of 2019 to the killing of 1-year-old Davell Gardner, who died in his stroller at a barbecue from a shooting.
Carlson noted that the city of Minneapolis had moved to “eliminate the police department,” then followed with the clip of the restaurant owner, who stated, “In the night, there’s no security here. So a lot of people try to get in inside in the back. Stealing things in the back. And we need more police.”
The Daily Wire reported on Tuesday:
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!”
In early June, speaking with CNN’s Alisyn Camerota on Monday morning, the president of the Minneapolis City Council, which had stated that it intended to “dismantle” the city’s police department, was asked what a citizen should do if an intruder broke into their house in the middle of the night and there were no police to call. In response, she blithely suggested that the opportunity to call police “comes from a place of privilege,” adding that those citizens should “step back and imagine what it would feel like to already live in that reality where calling the police may mean more harm.”
“We have a state action against our police department, which gives us legal mechanisms in the very short term, you know, there is (sic) lessons from all over the country, all over the world that we’re looking to take immediate steps while we work toward building the systems that we would need to imagine that future,” Minneapolis City Council President Lisa Bender said to Camerota.
“Do you understand that the word ‘dismantle’ or ‘police-free’ make some people nervous?” Camerota asked. “For instance, what if in the middle of the night, my home is broken into? Who do I call?”
Bender answered, “Yes, I mean, I hear that loud and clear from a lot of my neighbors, and I know, and myself too, and I know that that comes from a place of privilege because for those of us for whom the system is working, I think we need to step back and imagine what it would feel like to already live in that reality where calling the police may mean more harm is done.”