Minneapolis Commissioner of Public Safety Todd Barnette spoke to a crowd of 40 at a Sept. 6 meeting at the Ukrainian American Community Center, “The one thing I would say to you about reform in the police department is that you don’t hear a lot of good things that are happening here, because we haven’t done a good job of getting those stories out.”
Getting those stories out was why Third Ward City Council Member Michael Rainville arranged the meeting. Also present was 2nd Precinct Inspector Nick Torborg.
Barnette, who’s been in office just short of a year, outlined his role as overseer of five departments: police, fire, 911, neighborhood safety and emergency management. He noted that a lot of people don’t
really know about emergency management, even though it’s assigned to handle everything from natural disasters to civil unrest.
He said there are protocols in place for emergency management, but in 2020, the year of the George Floyd riots, “We didn’t do that as a city, and so part of my job since I’ve gotten here, is to lift up the Office of Emergency Management so that when we do encounter situations that we are prepared.“
He mentioned the consent agreement between the Minneapolis Police Department and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, which has led to a comprehensive plan of reform, even with non-emergency services.
Torborg is finishing his first year as head of the 2nd Precinct, and he reminded the audience of his Northeast roots; growing up a few blocks from the station and attending Holy Cross and DeLaSalle. He said that after nearly 30 years on the force, he was considering retirement last year when the 2nd Precinct position came up, and he decided to take it largely because it was where he grew up and still has family and friends. He added, “Once you’re a Northeaster, you’re always a Northeaster.”
He recalled that when the Police Department was more fully staffed, there was a 24-person traffic unit that, instead of responding to 911 calls, would enforce traffic laws throughout the city. That unit now investigates serious injury traffic cases, leaving enforcement of traffic laws to precinct officers, who have much less discretionary time to do so.
Currently, the precinct has around 52 officers, plus street sergeants and lieutenants, and answers all 911 calls and investigates all property crimes, handling around 90% of 2nd precinct crimes with 2nd precinct personnel.
He said the Minneapolis Police Department is “getting creative” with the community service officer (CSO) program, which allows candidates to attend school while serving as officers, as well as generally putting much more effort into recruiting. Torborg said that getting staff numbers up is one of most important tasks, noting that citywide, the number of sworn officers briefly dipped below 500, the lowest total in several decades.
Torborg said he would like to have “beat cops” on East Hennepin, Dinkytown, and Central Avenue, but with around 16 officers per shift, that’s not possible at present. He noted that auto theft is down from the same time last year but still high.
He added that some “sprees,” usually juveniles with stolen cars, have occurred over the past nine months, targeting females and stealing purses and phones. “By the second occurrence, we recognized patterns, posted squads on the bridges and got two cars full of suspects. We haven’t had any further sprees in a while.” Torborg also noted that there have been no on the Northeast side of the Third Ward this year.
Council Member Rainville read questions submitted by audience members, including officer wellness, homeless persons, issues with the City Attorney, using 311 and 911 calls for concerns and emergencies, and whether or not the City is paying contracted violence interrupters.
Barnette said there is now an early intervention system that pulls information from different systems to identify issues such as absenteeism, multiple car accidents or other behavioral changes among officers, allowing the Department to make services available. Torborg said, “We have to give them a decent working environment. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had different people come through the second precinct to check our facilities and look for ways that they can be upgraded.”
Both Barnette and Torborg discussed the use of 311 and 911. Torborg said, “It might be a Northeast thing, but people here are more reluctant to call 911 than other parts of the city. Members of my family were the same way. But please, it doesn’t hurt to call 311, but if there’s a chance that somebody’s safety is in danger, or you’re not sure, just call 911 and they’ll route it.”
Barnette said a class of six or seven call takers will finish classroom studies next month and enter training beside current 911 call takers. He said that 911’s Behavioral Crisis Unit took more than 9,000 calls last year.
Third Ward City Council Member Michael Rainville, center, read questions from the audience as Todd Barnette, Minneapolis Commissioner of Public Safety and Inspector Nick Torborg, 2nd Precinct, prepared to answer them. (Mark Peterson)