July 14 at 6:37. We have 9 attenders in person and 14 by Zoom
We opened tonight with the 2nd Precinct’s Officers of the Month
Officers Naukue Cha. and Ty Mattioli were dispatched to a report of someone with a gun making threats.
As officers arrived, a male ran out of a nearby house and toward their squad holding a handgun with a green laser. As the man approached, Officers were able to convince the man to drop the gun without using deadly force. Officers Cha and Mattoli then detained the suspect.. It quickly became apparent that the male was having a severe mental health crisis and was delusional. The male was placed on a transport hold and was transported to the hospital without further incident. He also happened to be prohibited from possessing a firearm, so he will face charges for firearm possession.
Officers Cha and Mattioli did a great job staying calm in the face of extreme danger as they got this situation under control. Were it not for their professionalism and extreme courage, this situation could have ended very tragically.
In recognition of their heroic actions in this case, they were named 2nd Precinct Officers of the Month.
Tonight’s speaker is City Council member, Mike Rainville. CM Rainville represents the 3rd Ward, which stretches from Marcy-Holmes through St. Anthony East and West, up to Bottineau on the East Bank. Across the river Ward 3 starts at Downtown East all the way up through North Loop.
CM Rainville: Today I want to talk about our police department and how well things are going.
I’ve been a council member for four years, but I know many of you from being involved in my community and working with the police. What we have in the MPD and here in the Second Precinct is tremendous leadership. Any organization, successful or unsuccessful, you point to the leadership for those traits.
We have a successful Police Dept. because of Chief O’Hara. This is a successful Precinct because of Inspector Torberg.
Inspector Torberg was a night lieutenant in downtown Minneapolis when I got elected in ’21. I got to go on some ride-alongs with him so he could show me what policing is. A policy maker doesn’t know what policing is until they’re sitting in that squad car watching it happen. Nick was very good about that, and I thank you for that, Nick.
Traditionally, Police Chiefs have been promoted from within, but this time, it was determined that the MPD needed someone from the outside. The reaction in 2021, ’22, ’23 came from the police officers: we went from 980 officers down to about 502. There were many times where fewer than 500 officers were available to do duty because of illness, injuries, maternity leave, deployment.
That changed in ’24. 2024 is the first year since ’20, that we had more officers at the end of the year than we had in Jan. Recruiting is paying off. Officers are staying longer. And in ’25, we might end the year with 100 more officers than what we started with.
The recruiting classes have been incredible. These 21, 22-year-olds know exactly what they’re getting into. They’re willingly accepting the scrutiny from everybody who’s got a camera. They know that they are being watched constantly. They want to be part of a police department that’s coming back.
We have the best trained Police Dept. in North America, and it’s showing. What else has changed? It’s the use of technology and non-armed public safety teams.
CAMERAS: We have a Milestone camera system* [https://doc.milestonesys.com/latest/en-US/system/sad/sad_overallsystemarchitecture.htm], and our Crime Prevention Specialists like Teila are helping private businesses use the FUSA [EQ: Google FUSA Camera systems] which give business owners and MPD Detectives video coverage of business alleys, store fronts and interiors.
DRONES: More and more, that’s become a valuable technology that helps policing.
LIGHTS: I ask 3rd Ward Safety Walk groups to put blue painters’ tape around a street light pole that has a light out so it can be fixed.
Non-Armed Public Safety: That’s a phrase du jour, but what does it mean? Well, that means when gangs have been targeting others, it means going to hospitals to talk to shooting victims and convince them that they should not retaliate. It means speaking with their families. It means getting gang members back on the straight and narrow. It means using the opportunity when they’re laying there, bandaged up, that this life is not for you.
Violence interrupters: We have teams of really good violence interrupters. I’d like to mention the Somali Mothers who are down on the riverfront on both sides of Stone Arch Bridge and Boom Island. When Somali Mothers are down there, the youth listen to them, and it’s a very calm process. [EQ: a list, but can you look at this one?? Add to or correct??? https://x.com/CityMinneapolis/status/1544750865197764609]
Behavioral Crisis Response teams. Perhaps the biggest success in non-armed public safety is our BCR teams. You’ll see white vans with trained social workers in there.
When a 911 call comes in and it’s determined that a police officer isn’t needed there, the social workers arrive and use all their skills to help that person. Up to 11% of 911 calls are being diverted to the BCR including domestic violence, addictions, emotional breakdowns. That response is working very, very well.
Embedded Social Worker Program The Second Precinct Social Worker, April Smith, received Chief O’Hare’s Award of Merit at the April ’25 MSTAT [EQ: See https://www.facebook.com/MinneapolisPoliceDepartment/posts/-special-recognition-at-community-mstat-meeting-last-nights-community-mstat-meet/1062400285925011/] She had over 80 cases by March ’25, targeting offenders who repeat crimes that are low level, but require police attention. Slowly she succeeded by getting services for the repeaters that resolved their situations.
A lot of this is driven by the addiction crisis, which is the biggest concern. Just last week, over 900 pounds of meth was taken off 31st and Cedar. A couple of weeks before that, officers opened a locker on Lake Street with almost 1000 pounds of meth inside. Meth and fentanyl are incredibly addictive.
I want to end on a note about the success on the 4th of July.
Across the river at the intersection of Plymouth Avenue and the West River Road, across from Boom Island Park, Park Police spotted a truck that had been present at last year’s 4th of July, when fireworks were shot at people and guns were fired. The Park Police opened the truck and found it full of high-grade explosive rockets they were getting ready to use to shoot at people. [STOPPED!]
On this side of the river, I did a ride along with Inspector Torberg. At the Stone Arch Bridge, even though State Patrol officers and our MPD officers were there, some youths decided to light one of those big mortars and throw it out in front of everybody. When police secured the area, they found three cars with huge boxes of those fireworks. The cars were towed away. The officers had prevented another 4th of July night of mayhem. Between the Park Police, the State Patrol, and MPD, we had an incredibly safe 4th of July.
Our police are just doing one heck of a job and I am proud of them and so happy to support them.
Next, I would love to take questions from the audience online or any questions or comments in the room.
Question: what’s an area that didn’t get the improvements that we hoped to see?
Rainville: Number one would be staffing. We are still the lowest police staffed city for our size in the United States, actually for all sizes. We just don’t have enough 911 responders OR investigators.
In 2020, we had 180 investigators. It dropped to about 80. Now we’re over a hundred.
You have to stop crime or halt crime in progress. But you also have to follow up, investigate, build a court case. We still have staffing issues there and that’s an area that has to be improved.
Next is technology:Technology can play a really big role keeping citizens safe, and the responders safe as well. It can be an effective force multiplier. So we still have a lot of room to expand technology with drones, cameras, lighting.
We’ve had miles of copper stripped out of lights, especially in parks and on the parkways. What’s new is that as public works rewires the lights, they’re using aluminum. Aluminum is worth far less than copper. When a line is wired with aluminum and the thieves see aluminum instead of copper, they just go away.
Question: What are the city’s continued staffing challenges? Is it still money or is it also the bad rep that was highlighted by George Floyd’s story? I think that we’re always going to have that. It’s just going to be there.
Rainville: Minneapolis has the reputation of a police department that brutalized a man in 2020. When an officer takes someone into custody, they are responsible to make sure that prisoner lives. That did not happen with Mr. Floyd.
But all [protective] services are short of people. MPD pay is equal to the top five of the jurisdictions, so pay is not the issue. Under chiefs Arradondo and O’Hara, there have been more and more civilians helping with the work.
If you’re 22, 24 years old and want exciting work, there’s no more exciting police force in the state of Minnesota than the Minneapolis police force. Once you’re trained and you’ve done your patrol time, we have dog units, we have horse units, we have bike units. We have all kinds of opportunities and activities.
If an officer goes out to the PD in Golden Valley or Blaine, they might become a sergeant in 12, 13, 15 years. Becoming a lieutenant can take you 25 years.
In contrast, the opportunity for rapid advancement is great here in Minneapolis and that’s a big advantage to bring our numbers back.
Question: I saw an article in the paper about camera cops at stop lights. What about stop signs? I live in SE Como which has three emergency routes running through it. People do stop for lights but stop signs not at all. That has been true since I moved there in 1991.
Rainville: Of the complaints I get in my office, speeding, running red lights, running stop signs, are in the top five. In the ’24 legislative session, I testified twice at the House, twice at the Senate for the red light speed cameras In about a month, six weeks, they’re going to start rolling out the cameras. Initially they’re only going to be on city streets because we have to work out arrangements with the county and with the state.
Question: I’d like to ask about the homeless situation and homeless camps. It looks like things are really improving. I bike a lot. Earlier this year along the Hiawatha Light Rail Trail, there were several camps. It was congested.
I biked there a week or a little less than a week ago. It looks like folks who are staffing the Franklin Station and other light rail stations, their presence, plus whatever else is happening, the prevalence is very low. I’m not sure what role the Council must be playing, some role in this.
Rainville: It comes from the Mayor, to have the police along with our homeless response team. We put a lot of resources into staff, then services to make it easy to get people over to the County for the social services. The first step is always to help.
We want to help people get into housing. We want to help people if they choose to get off addiction. And of course, something like a pair of socks and a cold bottle of water goes a long ways. We’re spending the resources more than we ever have as a city before.
Housing has been a little hiccup the last couple of years because of the mortgage rates and so on. Still, we have built a lot of deeply, deeply affordable housing. All of that together, along with the Mayor’s willingness to help people and meet them where they are. It is working out.
There’s always going to be a problem. And again, I’ll go back to the addiction issue. When you go to help somebody, it’s alcohol, it’s drugs, it’s mental illness. It’s a combination of all three. That’s 99% of the problem. It’s very sad that people have taken that path in their life.
But we’re here to help. It’s our responsibility. We love them. The homeless, the addicted, they are our sisters, they are our brothers. And first and foremost, we want to help.
We now have a response with low barrier housing, “Housing First” — the overall philosophy. In order to help somebody, the first thing you do is to house them. Get them out from under the bridge or the tent, get them a house. Then be there to offer services when they’re ready. On Plymouth Avenue North and Washington. It’s called Avivo Village.
It’s a big warehouse that has 100 tiny homes built inside.
A tiny home that has a cot, a dresser, a recliner, and a lock on the door. You can come and go.That’s kind of the first stop for people. They allow couples in there, which are not allowed in shelters. They allow pets. It’s staffed for security 24 hours a day. And 16 hours a day are social service workers to help you get into permanent housing. A lot of people don’t have social security cards or birth certificates. It’s hard for them to get the services they need because you have to document who you are. Avivo is an incredibly successful program. If we had four more of those, it would go a long, long way. It’s just very expensive, very labor intensive to help people in that form, but it’s the best way.
Comment: about a Minneapolis landlord who’s launching a private encampment in the parking lot next to an abandoned building he owns. What is the city view or police view on that?
Rainville: [The City Council had a meeting on the subject that afternoon] I’ll know tomorrow morning what the city can do. It is against city ordinance, to sleep in a tent, to sleep overnight in a tent, but that’s tough to enforce.
Question: Domestic (calls) can be very volatile situations. Who are you sending out with the social worker?
Rainville: If the 911 operator determines that the BCR can answer, two go out. If the BCR agents determine an officer is needed, they call the police. So not every call is successfully completed by the BCR. Many times the police have to back them up, because you’re absolutely right: domestic violence or severe addiction, very dangerous situations.
Question: Since you started that, have there been any incidents?
Rainville: We haven’t had anybody hurt. Agents know the civilians don’t want to step back and call the police. It’s working.
Inspector Torborg: It’s a concern, though. Typically [BCR agents] don’t go to domestic violence. Personally, I wish they at least wore vests like police officers wear, because I’ve seen things go from a controlled situation out of control in a matter of moments. They’re good at what they do and, they’ve been around several years now with no injuries.
It’s been a huge benefit to the police department, because our staffing is so low.
To handle them properly, domestic calls require a lot of patience and a lot of time. It’s tough for an officer to invest that time when he or she knows that other calls are going unanswered while they’re spending time at the domestic call.
Rainville: And that’s a really good point. They’ve had tremendous success, because the social workers will take their time.
Torborg: Many times, a police officer has one ear on his radio. Here’s another thing, a person in civilian clothes has a more calming effect than an officer in a uniform with a gun belt on.
Question about funding.
Rainville: BCR agents are paid by the city government, by us as taxpayers. It’s part of the general fund.
Back to the clothing they wear and the vests that they could wear. Nick, are there vests that are slimmer, that could be worn under?
Torborg: Well, I’m wearing one right now. [Comment: I could never tell]
I don’t know what the resistance is to them. I think they want to avoid appearing like a police officer. If they start wearing a vest or some other safety gear, then it might be hard for some people to tell the difference.
Question: How much does an “invisible” vest like that cost?
Torborg: Depending on the style and the comfort level, you might have six or seven hundred bucks down.
Maybe they don’t want to wear them. They’re uncomfortable to wear, especially on hot days.
Question: Back to the traffic cameras? How is this going to start? Warning first?
Rainville: Yes, The photo is first viewed by a human in case there’s a snafu; then a warning is sent out. It’s a $40 fine the second time, and an $80 fine for the third.
We know what intersections have the most crashes, for whatever reason. That’s what we’re going to focus on first.
Two questions:
So first question is going back to the traffic cameras. What if it’s a stolen vehicle on that license plate? What happens then?
Rainville:The car owner has a chance to talk to us as a city, “Hey, my car was stolen.” There’s a police report or some other documentation and the ticket goes away. You have to be fair.
My second question then is very frustrating for me. There are the street vendors, the people who are selling fruit. Then we also have the people who are just begging for money.
My first question is, are the vendors who are selling fruit, licensed? Or how does that work?
Rainville: Yes, they need to be licensed so they can be inspected for health department reasons. And you’re right, it’s very hard to enforce because there’s so many. We actually lowered the fee for fruit car vendors in order to help people become part of the system. Someday that enforcement will be stricter. But at this time, we don’t have a lot of business license inspectors either.
We dropped the fee from about $740 down to $80 in order to give them the incentive for people to be part of our system, to have a license, to be inspected, to have the dignity of a job. So we’ll see how that all goes. As for as people begging, that is not against the law. It’s dangerous. It’s something that, as a city, we cannot enforce.
Rainville: Thank you for inviting me. [End Part 1}
2nd Precinct Advisory Council 