Gang task force proposal gains traction and stirs anxiety
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Representatives of around 40 Twin Cities law enforcement agencies will meet with state officials this week to discuss growing calls for a regional police response to gang violence.
Why it matters: Residents and city leaders are clamoring for solutions after police in multiple Twin Cities suburbs tied an alarming string of gun violence to Somali American gangs.
- Among the incidents: Shootings near Eden Prairie High School's homecoming game, on a residential street in Bloomington and at an Edina pickup basketball game.
State of play: Officials from those cities quickly lined up behind Eden Prairie Mayor Ron Case's call on Monday to create a regional task force to address East African gangs, whose feuds often cross jurisdictional lines.
- The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) is convening this week's meeting to discuss how to "work together metro-wide on these investigations," BCA spokesperson Mike Ernster tells Axios.
Plus: Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt has already redirected two existing violence prevention teams to "primarily start focusing on gangs," she told reporters.
What they're saying: Some Somali Minnesotans cautioned law enforcement officials against using labels like "Somali gangs," which could feed stereotypes and hostility toward the broader community.
- "This is not a Somali problem, this is a youth violence problem," Minneapolis resident Munira Yusuf told an Edina town hall this week.
- "Are we applying the same standard evaluating gun violence regardless of race?" said another attendee, Abdirahman Abdi. "Let's not mention the Somali name every time something happens — that's not safe either."
Between the lines: Law enforcement officials contend Somali gangs are distinct from others they've faced:
- Somali gangs largely aren't selling drugs, making it easier to intervene, says Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher: Leaving a gang doesn't mean losing money from trafficking.
- But without drug charges, most members also have legal firearm permits, Bloomington police chief Booker Hodges told WCCO Radio.
- The violence is driven by social media beefs, Hodges told reporters. "I wish it was more complex, but we're not finding drugs, we're not finding big stashes of cash."
What we're watching: What the regional task force would do, beyond expanding intelligence-sharing between police agencies.
- Mayor Case's proposal calls for a group tasked with "identifying and holding accountable" gang members and developing prevention strategies.