Reader Writes: Answers and Changes to Policing Needed to Curb Downtown Mayhem

By Joe Tamburino

The horrific events on the Fourth of July in our wonderful Mill District neighborhood was, sadly, predictable and likely to happen again.  Ever since the riots in the summer of 2020, we’ve sporadically experienced large groups of people causing mayhem in our streets ranging from exhibition driving and drag racing to property destruction and gunfire. Such lawless behavior will likely happen again because rarely is anyone in these crowds arrested or held accountable for their actions.  It is beyond time for the city’s leaders to take control of the situation.  To prepare for and combat future street unrest, the mayor should make three important and immediate changes to city policy: allow police to physically disperse crowds, remove all scooters, and have the National Guard ready to deploy during major downtown events.

First, Mayor Frey signed a “stipulation and order” (Stipulation) regarding Minneapolis Police Dept. (MPD) procedures and officer conduct on June 5, 2020.  Though the agreement addresses some important issues like banning police chokeholds it also unnecessarily hamstrung police in engaging and disbanding large crowds.  MPD officers are prohibited from using physical force and crowd dispersal tools like tear gas to break-up large and often times unlawful crowds unless the chief of police directly authorizes such actions. We need to know whether such authorization was requested by MPD officers on July 4th and what the Chief’s Office did or did not authorize.  No matter what we find out, the terms of that Stipulation must be re-visited to address the situation we are in two years after the mayor signed it. 

Second, scooters in downtown have become unmanageable, especially at the bottom of Portland Avenue near the Stone Arch Bridge. That scooter station has become a late night magnet for people who want to cause trouble.  We see people starting their scooter rentals at 10:00 p.m. at that location and drive all over the Mill District yelling, screaming, blocking traffic, jumping on and off sidewalks until their rental time expires at midnight. On July 4th, that station was filled with people causing all sorts of problems and firing off dangerous fireworks. The mayor should order the scooters removed until downtown returns to some semblance of order, however long that takes.  The fact that some people love the scooters and they are a fun way to get around town can no longer be the dominant concern.  They have to go. 

Lastly, the National Guard should be placed on standby in Minneapolis during major events. We experienced the fallout from communication problems between Mayor Frey and Governor Walz during the 2020 riots concerning National Guard deployments, but there’s no excuse now for not having their troops ready-to-go at a moment’s notice to assist MPD. We have the Aquatennial celebrations in two weeks and we need the Guard to be ready.

Our city leaders see the problems and know that law-abiding residents are in danger. Now let’s see if they have the backbone to stand up against this craziness and do something about it.

Editors note: Joe Tamburino is a resident of Downtown Minneapolis, Defense Attorney with offices Downtown, and Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood Association Board Member