Check a solution at the door…please?
By Lisa Clemons – Guest Columnist (Unedited-Facebook, with permission)
SO I TOOK MY “WOO-SAH” MOMENT BEFORE I DECIDED TO POST…HERE GOES:
Today I listened to an elected official, who I do have a lot of respect for, on the radio this morning speaking on the Jamar Clark shooting and the police. I have trouble with ELECTED official joining the US vs THEM team, because it is my belief that they should be neutral since they REPRESENT both sides…. I hate even using the term “sides” because it supports division.
Hearing politicians say north Minneapolis is being “Over Policed” strikes me as odd.
Are they sleeping through the shots fired calls, or the shootings/homicides in North Minneapolis on nearly a daily basis?
Are they sleeping through the burglaries, some of which have led to murders or serious assaults in North Minneapolis? Perhaps 68-year-old Susan Spillers family would disagree, or the family of 69-year-old murder victim Thomas Sonnenberg and his wife who was held hostage and raped, by a suspect who was supposed to be tying up loose ends before reporting to prison to begin serving a 33-month sentence for violating probation he’d gotten for assaulting a Metro Transit bus driver. He’s also been sentenced to 24 months in a separate assault case.
Are you sleeping through the numerous fights throughout the community that have started to seep into downtown Minneapolis?
Are you sleeping through the rise in Heroin overdoses in North Minneapolis?
Are you sleeping through the more than 700 calls for Domestic Violence in the past 3-7 years in North Minneapolis, mostly in the Follwell Park Area?
Did you sleep through the homicide of the teenager shot down like a dog in the alley on on 38th/Colfax Ave North, or the 2 other shooting hours later, on the body found frozen in the car off Sheridan/Plymouth or the shooting in Shingle Creek neighborhood a week ago (blocks from my mother), of the shooting on Hwy 94 near Dowling Ave.
Have you slept through the MANY fathers, brothers, sons, daughters, babies, mothers, sisters, nieces and nephews who have died by gun fire in North Minneapolis, or who are now paralyzed, etc…
How do you over police a high crime area? Which residents are you speaking for when you make that statement? One segment wants less policing or no police and the rest want faster responses from the police or more officers hired.
Who is right?
Who do you represent?
As an ELECTED official where do you strike that fair balance?
How about the fact that the police officers “policing that area” are assigned to police NORTH MINNEAPOLIS? On an average shifts have seven officers on the street for 15 neighborhoods in North Minneapolis.
If there is a shooting the community may go WITHOUT an officer to respond to their calls, or may have a long wait, or officers may have to be pulled from another precinct, lowering their minimums.
How about finding solutions to REDUCE crime in the community, like Economics (JOBS), “REAL” Affordable Housing, a police department that is “Reflective” of the community (Providing they want to work there with all the negative support they are already receiving) and supporting “REAL” partnerships in the community…. Some of these things are LEGISLATIVE.
In other states officers are no longer being proactive or “hesitant” to police.
When people say a community is being “over-policed” what’s your solution? Respond to 911 calls only? What would the constituents say to that? What would be crime victims say?
SOLUTION, SOLUTIONS, SOLUTIONS… Finger pointing has yet to resolve any problems in Minneapolis.
Well Spoken Ms. Aunty Clemons…
I wish black lives matter to some of you black people too… I think we need to personally get out into the streets rally with poster s and signs some saying I wish black lives matter to black people,stop the violence,stop the genocide, let’s care for one another, ect. and if the police care they would get involved as well set up events in the community with high police security and provide resources for drug abuse,family problems,ect provide lunch a couple days out the week in the community let’s clean up the city and bring the North side back and make it a safe family oriented place instead of trying to bust people for selling smoking weed let’s focus on the murders homicides and robbery’s going on!!
Our Community has three external ROOT FOUNDATIONAL CAUSES endlessly PIMPED INTO, fertile life in Near North and North MPLS.
DRUGS
GANGS
GUN
None of which is natural, or made, produced, created, manufactured, grown, fertilization is all that is spread among the human crops, living working and going to school on our beloved Near North and Northside community.
Tell me what purposes does MPLS POLICE SERVE when for decades since the 70’s the POLICE have done nothing to eradicate those THREE ROOT CAUSES and there FLOODS…. it’s clear to our community the POLICE are the fourth ROOT PROBLEM PREYING ON our Community under the false assumption, they can get the job done, when in decades of Actuality and factual evidence and proof YEAR in and YEAR OUT, they in fact are the ROOT, or ROOTS, Failing under the Tree. Our Community keeps trying to build on our community, but FLOODS, the POLICE are suppose eradicate, keep flooding, ganging, gunning and only few can flourish and prosper and even they can be killed.
I pray Psalm 150
Think about the BOX.