MINNEAPOLIS — Shonda Shannon has been running a block party for National Night Out for at least six years now. It provides her — and the young kids in her neighborhood on Knox near Plymouth Avenue — a chance to have a positive interaction with Minneapolis Police.
"I want them to be able to respect the good things they do," Shannon said, "instead of just what they see on the news or what they might hear from their friends. These are people, not just police officers out to get you."
National Night Out, which in Minneapolis typically draws some of the largest attendance figures in the nation, gives officers a chance to mingle in a friendly environment with the people they serve. This year, in 2019, it comes after MPD Chief Medaria Arradondo proposed adding 400 officers by 2025 to meet increasing safety demands — which includes unanswered priority 911 calls.
"Making sure we're doing our best," Arradondo said, "in terms of efficiency and operation."
But that idea makes some uneasy -- including Shannon, who said she understands both sides of the debate.
"It's a mixed thing for me. It's a lot of profiling, and I don't want them to get on the streets and see kids playing and it goes a negative way," Shannon said.
Jermaine Rudolph, who brought his little cousins to a National Night Out block party in the Hawthorne neighborhood, said he's also wary.
"Honestly, I'm gonna say we have enough officers," Rudolph said.
But on this National Night Out, he stressed to his cousins that they need to have a strong relationship with the officers on the streets.
"All of them not bad," he told his cousins. "There's good cops, and there's bad cops."