South Uptown residents hold virtual meeting addressing crime uptick

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A Minneapolis neighborhood came together virtually Tuesday to address crime in their community.

Violent crime in the city’s 5th precinct has jumped 14 percent this year and the South Uptown Neighborhood Association heard from city leaders about what they are doing to help improve public safety in the area.

“I will say this is an issue that is highly emotional,” said City Councilor Lisa Bender, of Ward 10. “And it is very stressful. What our community has gone through with the death of George Floyd was traumatic and stressful. The aftermath was stressful. Frankly, the behavior our police department during that time was traumatic and stressful for a lot of people in our community."

Bender spoke to the association via Zoom Tuesday, saying the City Council diverted $1.5 million from Minneapolis Police’s budget to go toward violence prevention.

Neighborhood residents have expressed their concerns over a rise in carjackings, car thefts, robberies and shootings over the past couple of months.

Police also told them about the vandalism of the nearby 5th precinct headquarters by a large group of people over the weekend.

“We had a group of people who showed at the precinct and started damaging the buildings, throwing rocks and breaking some of the windows. We did ask for response cars from other precincts to help bring that under control, but the group left before response cars from other parts of the city were able to arrive,” said Inspector Amelia Huffman, of the Minneapolis Police Department.