Dear Neighbors,
As chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee I have convened a series of hearings to investigate the state’s response to the riots, looting, and lawlessness that took place in Minneapolis at the end of May and beginning of June. Wednesday’s hearing focused on highway closures and local law enforcement’s response to the riots.
To watch the full hearing click here, or scroll to the bottom of the page for the full video.
LAW ENFORCEMENT RESPONSE TO RIOTS
I want to begin with the second half of the hearing, when we discussed the response to riots at the 3rd Precinct, because it was the most emotional and frustrating. We had the privilege of being joined by Sergeant Sherral Schmidt, Sergeant Anna Hedberg, and Officer Rich Walker, of the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association for this discussion.
I started our conversation by asking them if they had the necessary tools and support to deal with the riots they were faced with. The answer was more than disconcerting. Officer Walker replied: “I believe we have the tools if they are utilized, if we are authorized to be used to circumvent and stop what happened. I believe the real question, sir, is were we allowed to do it, and were our leaders allowing us to do our job. And I am here to tell the truth and the whole truth, and the truth is the leaders of Minneapolis failed Minneapolis.”
Their testimony quickly became emotional as they recounted the feelings of helplessness they experienced as they saw their colleagues calling for help and back up at the 3rd precinct. It has been hard for Minneapolis officers after the evening that the 3rd precinct was abandoned. Officers were attacked, and many were seriously injured as they had been told their riot gear looked too aggressive and they could not wear it as they engaged with violent protesters. They were each astonished that leadership ordered them to surrender the precinct noting that if leadership was willing to give that up, it indicates they are willing to give up just about anything. They believe this has motivated the uptick in crime in the cities noting that the carelessness and ignorance of local leadership has emboldened criminals.
We also learned that the Longfellow Business association was notified on May 28 that the precinct would be surrendered, and their community would be abandoned. They were told that there would be no one in the area to defend them and it would be up to them to protect their own businesses. This warning was given to them before officers were notified and many did not know to clean out their lockers or collect sensitive information before rioters overtook the building.
Senator Senjem asked them if the third precinct could have been saved. Officer Walker responded: “We absolutely could have saved that building along with 1,500 other buildings in that city. Our precinct would still be standing today if we were given the right order and resources to save our building.” That statement is damning. Those officers were abandoned, the community was left unprotected, and they let the place many of them call ‘home’, burn.
The testimony was unanimous and overwhelming – if politics hadn’t gotten in the way, if officers had been allowed to do their jobs, if action had been taken immediately and not delayed, the destruction of our cities could have been substantially mitigated. That applies to the third precinct, the city-wide damage, and the impact of the freeway closures. City leadership allowed this poison to spread and failed Minnesotans. Maintaining law and order should never be political. If this happens again, God forbid, we must do better.
FREEWAY CLOSURES
We also sought clarity on the events that evidently justified the closure of freeways — a serious public safety issue. Roadways are filled with emergency responders on their way to answer an urgent call or people just trying to get home to take care of their families, get to their doctor’s appointment, or drive their kids home safely. Unanticipated road closures are a significant safety hazard.
In one shocking display, a UPS truck was stranded on the highway amidst protesters and was set on fire. In another, protesters got onto I-35 and were throwing objects onto Lake street.
When asked about the decision to close freeways, Transportation Commissioner Margaret Anderson Kelliher shared that despite the curfew, the group of protesters grew to around 1,500, and safety precautions had to be implemented. They decided that road closures, made in coordination with the Department of Public Safety and the State Troopers, were necessary to ensure the safety of unsuspecting drivers.
Col. Matt Langer, chief of the State Patrol, continued by saying that there were simply not enough resources immediately available to keep the group in check. He repeatedly reiterated something that most of us would agree with wholeheartedly: “It is not legal to exercise one’s first amendment right peacefully on the freeway. It is illegal to walk on the freeway.”
The risk is too great to allow protests of this kind to happen in the future. Despite the best efforts of everyone involved, shutting a freeway down still has serious risks. We appreciated the testimony from Commissioner Anderson Kelliher and Colonel Langer – they were excellent resources as we work to establish new best practices to keep our roadways open and safe.
As always, please contact my office to share any comments, questions, or concerns. I would love to hear from you!
Scott