MINNEAPOLIS — In “major shift,” MPD boosts officer numbers for first time in half-decade. 

Minneapolis is seeing its first boost to police numbers in five years, city officials said. In 2024, MPD saw a 133 percent increase in applications and 76 new hires.

“This is a major shift, and obviously it’s a welcomed one,” said Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.
    
Mayor Frey and Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the influx of hiring last year means 36 additional police officers out on the streets. The chief said this is a good sign, one that wasn’t there when he took the job three years ago.

“Police officers in Minneapolis would tell me ‘if somebody asks me about this department, I’d tell them don’t come here, go somewhere else. Everybody’s leaving, people hate us,’” said O’Hara.
    
City officials said the change in attitude comes after historic raises of more than 20 percent for officers, and aggressively recruiting diverse candidates within the city.

“We’ve been very intentional about bringing in young people from communities that have not been represented here well before. Today, the overwhelming majority of applicants are people of color,” said O’Hara.
    
It was last week, the Minneapolis City Council approved a consent decree with the Department of Justice, after a DOJ report found that MPD unlawfully discriminated against people of color, among other issues in the department.

“It’s going into the north side, it’s going to Cedar-Riverside, it’s going to the south side and finding people that truly want to not just be part of the change, but care deeply about protecting and serving the communities that they already love,” said Frey.
    
Residents can expect quicker response times, and more cops out in the community building relationships, which, in turn, will help solve crimes, Frey said.

“We need to get back to where we were in 2020. We need to take every single shooting in this city and treat it as if it’s a murder. We need to get officers back walking the beats in neighborhoods in every precinct, in every corner of the city. We need to get cops checking in on businesses,” said O’Hara.

“I’m confident that, you know, as we get the numbers up, we will be able to do better,” said O’Hara.
    
As of last week, MPD said there are 579 sworn officers. That’s down from 922 in March 2019.

O’Hara said he expects to recruit the number of officers funded in the city budget within two or three years. It will be some time, the chief said, for MPD to reach 900 officers again.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Snowfall ended on Sunday morning, leaving about 1 inch in the Twin Cities metro area with blowing snow expected to continue throughout the day. 

Snowfall totals

What we know:

Snowfall wrapped up Sunday morning, leaving behind larger accumulations further north of the Twin Cities metro. 

Here’s a look at snow totals across the state from Saturday into Sunday:

• Red Wing: 1 inch
• St. Paul: 1 inch
• Minneapolis: 1-1.3 inches
• Coon Rapids: 1.8 inches
• Hibbing: 2 inches
• Nowthen: 2 inches
• Monticello: 1.5 inches
• St. Cloud: 2.2 inches
• Alexandria: 3 inches
• Baxter: 5.5 inches
• Coleraine: 4.6 inches
• Brainerd: 6 inches
• NWS Duluth: 6.7 inches 

Minnesota crashes

By the numbers:

The Minnesota State Patrol reported that between noon on Saturday and 8:30 a.m. there were 188 property damage crashes across the state, 25 injuries, 85 vehicles off the road, 10 vehicles off the road, 10 vehicle spin outs and three jackknifed semis. 

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – One Minneapolis man is helping his best friend from college pick up the pieces from the impact of the California wildfires.

Impact from California wildfires

What they’re experiencing::

Brady Morphy is picking up the pieces after evacuating from his Los Angeles County home Tuesday night. Wednesday, he learned his house had been completely burned down overnight. 

“Our entire block is gone, every house. We had 10 houses on our little street,” said Morphy.

READ MORE: California fires latest: Palisades evacuations expand; 16 killed

Best friends help best friends

What they’re saying:

Morphy told his best friend Scott Meslow what happened. Meslow couldn’t stand by and do nothing. 

“I spent most of Wednesday just sort of pacing around like a caged animal,” said Meslow.

Meslow and Morphy have been best friends for nearly 20 years. Meslow wanted to make sure Morphy, his wife, and their one-year-old daughter had everything they needed to rebuild. 

So Meslow and four other people got together to help.

“We started a text chain, you know, it’s called, it’s called the Brady and Kathy GoFundMe, and it includes people I know and people I don’t,” said Meslow.

Full Circle moment of help

What we know:

Little did Morphy know, the guy he met in 2006 in college, and who were at each other’s weddings would play a crucial role in helping his family.

“I never would have expected this. And when they first reached out, Kathy and I weren’t even sure, like that was something we want to do,” said Morphy.

So far, the GoFundMe for Morphy has raised $63,000.

“I know in Brady’s position, I would be really uncomfortable, but accepting help, and it’s part of the reason I felt like we just had to say, gently as possible, like Brady, let us do this,” said Meslow.

What you can do:

Morphy and his wife Kathy are doing the day-by-day stuff, even trying to figure out where they’re going to live the next couple of days. If you’d like to help, click here for the GoFundMe.