OpsLens

Minneapolis Top Cop is on the Wrong Side of History

We have never seen a time in this country when heads of local, county or state law enforcement agencies shamelessly turn their backs on a group of people simply for the purpose of political gain. Actions that result in the loss of business revenue, the loss of freedom, the loss of protection and the loss of life – until now. 

Minneapolis police chief, Medaria Arradondo, has fought vigorously to protect his own career, while failing to provide protection to a group of Minneapolis residents and business owners. An entire section of the city has become lawless and violent, and those very criminals responsible for the constant terror that victimizes innocents on a daily basis are the ones being provided the protection. 

Criminals with felony warrants freely roam throughout the “Free State of George Floyd”, an area blocked off by Minneapolis city-owned barriers placed by public works employees, which have become graffiti-ridden placards that display hateful messages directed at police officers and members of the community that are constitutionally entitled to the blanket of protection Arradondo has shamelessly refused to provide. 

A local business owner was confronted by a hostile thug in his auto body shop and given the ultimatum to pay money or be assaulted. The owner, an immigrant to the United States, was savagely beaten outside of the shop he has invested his whole life into building, and had his head stomped into the ground. The same suspect returned for days, multiple times, armed with what appeared to be a long rifle on one occasion, and a baseball bat the next. Police were not permitted to enter the zone to pursue the suspect, and it was only after police were able to catch up with the suspect outside of the autonomous zone that he was arrested.

Multiple internal police communications reveal that officers have communicated to their command staff begging for additional resources to be allowed to effectively provide service to those inside of the lawless community. These requests have gone unanswered, and officers are consistently approached by hostile agitators that threaten the officers with violence and death while they’re attempting to assist firefighters, EMS or investigate crimes and render aid to victims. 

In the meantime, residents that live in the community are approached by the same group of criminals that demand money from them before they’re allowed to leave their own alleyways to venture out to work or to go shopping for groceries. If they don’t give up the cash, the result could be deadly.

City officials have released statement(s) blatantly denying that the autonomous area even exists, and while the mayor’s office and police administration turn their back to the issue, the assault on freedom continues.

Leftist radical perpetuated violence and danger continue to plague the area, and the chief’s office remains quiet while city council members contradict their vote to dismantle the department by shaming the police on their recent lack of response to 911 calls in the zone. 

Just several weeks ago, Minneapolis city council president, Lisa Bender, led the charge to defund the Minneapolis Police department, but then ridiculed the lack of enforcement action on September 15, saying that citizens in the area were concerned and wondering, “where are the police?”. 

Meanwhile, a mass exodus of police officers has begun to take place in the once-beautiful city, and hundreds of officers are expected to be gone before it is all said and done. 

The city needs a lawman at the top of the department, but instead has been subjected to politically-driven policing with selective criteria for deciding who will be protected by police. This cowardly approach to a leadership position is solely responsible for the continued violence that plagues Minneapolis, and the criminal element will only continue to become more brazen, more entitled and more empowered with every minute that passes. 

The chief needs to take action and return law and order to his entire city. This may be the most difficult career choice that Arradondo has ever had to face, knowing that he may be sacrificing his current position with the city, but his action would undoubtedly send a message to the rest of the command staff and may encourage his precinct supervisors to follow suit. 

The question is, what side of history does Medaria Arradondo wish to be on?