Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo will make his case for increased staffing and resources on Wednesday, following another weekend plagued by gun violence downtown.
Arradondo's presentation to the Minneapolis city council's public safety committee, is just one way the city is reviewing security concerns posed by the recent surge in violent crime.
The city also issued a violation notice to the owner of Crave restaurant in downtown, following a Saturday shooting on the rooftop patio. Two people suffered non-critical injuries in the shooting. The notice requires the owner to provide an updated security plan explaining how it will prevent guns from entering the restaurant.
KARE 11 reached out to the owner of Crave for comment, but has not yet received a response.
"The fact that a guy got in with a gun, and used a gun, in somebody's place, is pretty disastrous," said Ken Sherman, owner of The Exchange Nightclub and Seven Steakhouse, both downtown.
"I think, more and more, if you run a club, you better be security conscious or there's going to be a real problem," Sherman said. "But I think it's a two-way street. I think if there were six shootings last weekend, and one happens at Crave and five happen on the street, they all need to be addressed."
Minneapolis did address downtown crime last summer in a way not seen in decades. Police, Metro Transit officers and Hennepin County Sheriff's deputies increased patrols in areas where crime has been most concentrated, such as the intersection of 5th and Hennepin. The effort appeared to help, as violent crime fell by 27% from 2017 to 2018. The results haven't lasted. This year, violent crime is back up 22%.
2019 Violent Crime
(1st Precinct - year to date)
Homicide: 5
Rape: 60
Robbery: 168
Aggravated Assault: 198
Total: 431
2018 Violent Crime
(1st Precinct - year to date)
Homicide: 2
Rape: 71
Robbery: 115
Aggravated Assault: 165
Total: 353
Total Violent Crimes:
(1st Precinct - year to date)
2016=401
2017=484
2018=353
2019=431
"I am clearly asking for more public resources and personnel," Cheif Arradondo said on Sunday, in response to his upcoming address to the public safety committee.
In order to increase that presence once again, Police Chief Arradondo says he's proposing an increased budget.
Sherman says there has already been a noticeable increase in officers and cameras back at 5th and Hennepin since Friday, but he believes the problem isn't just about money. He says a city policy doing away with low level marijuana stings last June seems to have emboldened some criminals and gangs. The mayor called for the end to the drug stings because they resulted in a disproportionate number of arrests of African Americans, but Sherman says there has to be a middle ground.
"The fundamental issue I see is they allow people to sell drugs on the street unimpeded. We have an open air drug market over there, I see it," Sherman says. "I think, until the city realizes that you can't have that in a major part of downtown, there are going to be people with weapons around and there's going to be a conflict."