Minnesota Supreme Court hears arguments in case challenging Minneapolis police staffing levels
ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) -- The Minnesota Supreme Court on Thursday heard arguments in a case involving the Minneapolis Police Department's staffing levels and whether city leaders have properly funded the number of officers needed based on legal requirements in the city's charter.
The case centers on language in the charter about how many police officers the city needs to fund at minimum per resident. Eight North Minneapolis residents who sued Mayor Jacob Frey and the Minneapolis City Council allege both have failed to uphold their legal obligation to adequately staff the department and should be compelled by the court to do so.
The document, which is like a constitution for the city, says the council "must fund a police force of at least 0.0017 employees per resident, and provide for those employees' compensation."
"[Plaintiffs] are here asking this court to restore the safety of their neighborhoods by enforcing the Minneapolis City Charter's minimum police requirement," said James Dickey, legal counsel for the plaintiffs, which include Don Samuels, a former city councilor and candidate for U.S. Congress.
Assistant Minneapolis City Attorney Greg Sautter argued the council has a duty to provide funding for a minimum number of officers, but not a duty to employ them. The mayor, who is in control of the department, has discretion over hiring, Sautter contends.
"Not included in that language is any requirement to employ a certain amount of police officers at certain level at any point in time," Sautter told the court.
The North Minneapolis residents in the case are asking the state's highest court to reinstate a district court judge's decision they claimed as a win, ordering the city to hire more police officers to meet charter requirements. This spring, though, a Minnesota Court of Appeals panel reversed that ruling, agreeing with the city that the charter imposes a clear duty to fund, but not employ, a minimum number of officers.
Hennepin County Judge Jamie Anderson in the district court ruling last year said the city needed 731 sworn police officers -- the number determined by the population formula -- on staff by the end of this month.
Police staffing has plummeted in the two years since the pandemic began and the May 2020 murder of George Floyd that sparked civil unrest. The department has struggled to meet demand as crime increases. The most recent data available from the city shows 621 sworn officers, including 39 on leave, at the end of May.
One of the plaintiffs, Georgianna Yantos, in a news conference following the Minnesota Supreme Court hearing said last fall she saw a group of young adults dash through her backyard brandishing weapons and chasing a man they ultimately shot and killed.
She is pleading for more police in her neighborhood.
"I've lived there all of my life-in Jordan and Hawthorne—and I am not moving. The criminals have to move," Yantos said. "We need help from the mayor and the city, whatever it takes."