Learning from the 2020 riots response in Minneapolis

Learning from the 2020 riots

City officials say new training has made them better to prepare to situations, like the 2020 riots sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The City of Minneapolis is in "reset" mode when it comes to handling critical incidents. Since the death of George Floyd, there have been policy and procedure changes but also a lot of training.

An "After Action" report made 27 recommendations, all of which the city says have been met, with the most significant focus being on communication.

Seventy city employees attended a FEMA incident training session in Maryland for a few days, where each department learned its role moving forward. Interim Emergency Management Director, Bryan Gorman, elaborated on the specific roles, saying, "For MPD and MFD, it’s working both in incident command and unified command. For emergency management, that’s running an emergency operations center. For city communications, it’s the joint information center, and for the mayor, with the support of emergency management and community safety commissioner, making strategic and policy-level decisions."

The training also emphasized how to better communicate and share information among departments.

"Figuring out how we work together as a full enterprise was of critical importance," added Mayor Jacob Frey.

They now feel more prepared for any potential crises, with Chief Brian O’Hara asserting, "We are all better prepared today than we were just a year ago."

In line with the city's "reset," a new app for residents has been introduced, named Safety 911. It is available for download or through signing up for texts by texting "MPLS ALERTS" to 77295.

The app will provide information on public safety, weather, and infrastructure, as well as notify residents of happier events in and around the city.