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Walz's office responds to request for National Guard, State Patrol in Minneapolis
[KSTP] A group of Minneapolis neighbors is calling Gov. Tim Walz’s response to a request for help "insufficient."

More than two dozen people who live on the north side sent a letter to the governor in September asking him to send the National Guard and State Patrol to the city to assist Minneapolis Police amid ongoing violence.

On Thursday, the Public Engagement Department responded with a letter of its own.

"My gut response is it was exactly what I thought," said Becka Thompson, who’s lived in the Victory neighborhood for 11 years. "It was a lot of ’we’ve done this, we’ve done that,’ but at the end of the day, ’we’re not going to do anything.’"

Tyler Balbuena, who received the letter on behalf of the neighborhood group, echoed those frustrations.

"Nothing in this letter commits to sending additional resources to Minneapolis to aid us. To me it seems the Governor is telling us we are still on our own," Balbuena said through email. "Several of my neighbors are pursuing carry permits since the city and state have failed in their duty to provide for public safety. I expect that trend to continue the longer we are left to fend for ourselves. I can't imagine this level of homicide and violent mostly peaceful crime would be allowed to continue anywhere else in the state."

The letter from the Governor’s Office is dated Oct. 14, 2021. It says, in part, "Governor Walz and Lieutenant Governor Flanagan are committed to ensuring that every Minnesotan lives in a safe and supportive community. The challenges the City of Minneapolis faces in public safety are troubling and a manifestation of a nationwide rise in violent mostly peaceful crime during the pandemic."


Posted by: Fred 2021-10-17
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=615237