MPD Chief Commits To Keeping Businesses Safe During Unrest
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- More than 140 businesses and properties in Minneapolis have been vandalized in the past few days.
The looting followed the deadly police shooting of Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center.
Many businesses were just getting up and running again, after they were damaged last summer following George Floyd's death.
WCCO's Reg Chapman shows us what the city is doing to protect people and property as they prepare for a verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial.
For two days following the shooting and killing of Wright during a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center, break-ins and damage to property across Minneapolis increased dramatically.
"The city received at least 200 calls into 911 about these damages. These were not related to the unrest and the protests in Brooklyn Center, these were an opportunity to attack the businesses. Many of the businesses in areas where unrest impacted them last year," said Director Erik Hansen.
Most of the businesses hit have been through this before. Some just reopened after being shut down for a year, following the destruction connected to the death of George Floyd.
"We do not want to re-traumatize our city and our communities by these acts of vandalism, burglaries and looting," said Chief Medaria Arradondo.
Arradondo says phase three of Operation Safety Net has been forced into action earlier than expected.
"What our community members certainly have seen over the last 48 hours and what they can continue to see is a robust presence," said Arradondo.
Community patrols have also increased, concentrating on business corridors that were hit hard, like Lake Street.
Several business along West Broadway in north Minneapolis were also vandalized after Wright was shot and killed in Brooklyn Center.
A Boost Mobile store was one of two hit on West Broadway.
"Our folks were responding, they were responding in a timely manner to keep those businesses safe," said Arradondo.
The city of Minneapolis is asking businesses to report losses related to recent civil unrest so staff can better understand the extent of damage and how to provide support.