Minneapolis, MN

In Last 2 Years, Minneapolis Added $51M To Fund Covering Police Conduct Settlements

Published

3 years ago

May 28, 2022

In Last 2 Years, Minneapolis Added M To Fund Covering Police Conduct Settlements

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — WCCO has discovered the Metropolis of Minneapolis this 12 months added tens of tens of millions of {dollars} to a fund to cowl police conduct settlements. Final 12 months town added $27 million to pay the household of George Floyd. On this 12 months’s price range, we’re advised town added $24 million to cowl police misconduct claims.

The most recent settlement went to journalist Linda Tirado.

READ MORE: MPD’s New third Precinct Inspector Working To Rebuild Belief: ‘We Want The Neighborhood Extra Than Ever’

“It’s been two years and I nonetheless get up questioning what the hell is unsuitable with my face,” journalist Linda Tirado stated.

Tirado traveled to Minneapolis to cowl the unrest following the police homicide of George Floyd. Whereas on project, she claims police struck her within the face with a foam bullet, leaving her blind in her left eye. Now town of Minneapolis is paying her $600,000 to settle her lawsuit.

“It’ll assist, it’ll assist lots, however they do count on my lifetime medical care so as to add as much as considerably greater than what the settlement will cowl,” Tirado stated.

She regrets it’s Minneapolis residents that foot the invoice for her settlement.

“I believe that’s one of the irritating components of this course of, feeling like I’m changing into a burden on these taxpayers when all I needed to do was report the story,” Tirado stated.

READ MORE: Majority Of Longfellow Neighbors Say They Need The MPD third Precinct To Be Reimagined As One thing Utterly New

The town is self-insured. So settlements are paid from the self-insurance fund. It covers issues like medical, dental, employees comp, normal legal responsibility and police conduct settlements. The town moved $24 million from the final fund into this fund this 12 months simply to cowl settlements over alleged misconduct.

To date this 12 months town has paid $7.2 million in settlements to 9 individuals who claimed they had been damage by police actions. There’s not less than one other $1.7 million pending in proposed authorized charges. The town assumes no legal responsibility when it settles.

There are a a number of different pending police conduct lawsuits, one with a requirement for $10 million.

“I’m so sorry that you’ve been by way of. This can be a metropolis that was terrorized, they went by way of a lot and now they’re being requested to shoulder the burden of all of those settlements as properly,” Tirado stated.

The town declined to touch upon this story.

MORE NEWS: Mpls Metropolis Legal professional Halts Talks With Human Rights Division Till Allegations Of Police Spying On Black Leaders Can Be Verified

WCCO expects a lawsuit to be filed quickly over former officer Derek Chauvin’s conduct with an adolescent. He pleaded responsible to violating the teenager’s civil rights when he held him down in 2017.

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Minneapolis, MN

‘They’re in good hands': Balloon release honors north Minneapolis crash victims

Published

6 hours ago

December 21, 2024

Press Room

‘They’re in good hands': Balloon release honors north Minneapolis crash victims

Dozens wept and embraced before releasing scores of balloons Saturday over north Minneapolis to remember two community pillars who were killed in a fiery car crash.

The crowd gathered near 26th and Emerson avenues to remember Esther Jean Fulks, 53, and Rose Elaine Reece, 57. They died on Dec. 16 when Teniki Latrice Elise Steward, 38, allegedly drove through a red light and struck their vehicle. A teenager waiting at a nearby bus stop also was injured.

Fulks and Reese “gave their love and their hard work and dedication to the community. And as you can see, there’s people out here for them,” said Fulks’ daughter, D’Nia. “I’m going to miss my mom. That was my world, I was with her day in and day out. I was hoping to come home to my mom, and it didn’t happen.”

“It means a lot,” Fulks’ son, Joseph Loyd, said of the neighbors attending the balloon release. “It shows what they contributed to the community and how much they meant to people. Not just their own families, but they touched countless other families and helped people.”

Emmary Thomas places a candle at a bus stop during a balloon release Saturday for Esther Fulks and Rose Reece at 26th and Emerson avenues in north Minneapolis. Fulks and Reece died in a crash at the intersection on Dec. 16. (Ayrton Breckenridge/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

A memorial of flowers, balloons, candles and pictures on Saturday mark the spot near the site of the crash that killed Esther Fulks and Rose Reece in north Minneapolis. Fulks and Reece died Dec. 16. (Ayrton Breckenridge/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Drakarr Lobley hugs a supporter during Saturday’s balloon release for Esther Fulks and Rose Reece in north Minneapolis. Fulks and Reece died in a crash at the intersection on Dec. 16. Lobley is Reece’s son. (Ayrton Breckenridge/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Family and friends said Fulks and Reece were pillars of the community who treated strangers like family and brought love to those around them. Both had worked as navigators for the Minneapolis Cultural Wellness Center since 1998, helping residents with food, clothing, shelter and other resources.

“They reminded us daily of the transformative power of service, love and cultural connection,” Elder Atum Azzahir, the center’s executive director, said in a statement. “They were not just navigators: They were beacons of hope, guiding people toward brighter futures.”

At the crash scene Saturday, loved ones embraced as they shed tears and shared memories. Anthony Hamilton’s “I Can’t Let Go” played as passing motorists called out condolences and words of support. Caution tape strung from a traffic cone near the intersection fluttered in the wind.

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Minneapolis, MN

Celebrating the winter solstice with a puppet procession in Minneapolis

Published

14 hours ago

December 21, 2024

Press Room

Celebrating the winter solstice with a puppet procession in Minneapolis

On Friday night, community members and artists with In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre gathered atop a snow-covered hill in Powderhorn Park in south Minneapolis to celebrate the winter solstice together.

In the center of the crowd, Minneapolis-based musician Sarina Partridge led a series of call-and-responses:

Musician Sarina Partridge leads a call-and-response song during a winter solstice celebration in Powderhorn Park.

Ben Hovland | MPR News

“Welcome in, wild hearts,” she sang. “We will sing our way to wholeness.”

The solstice at 3:21 a.m. Saturday marks the beginning of astronomical winter in the Northern Hemisphere, bringing with it longer days. Saturday will be the shortest day of the year, at 8 hours, 46 minutes and 10 seconds in Minneapolis.

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A large heron puppet leads people through a snowy park — A 25-foot tall heron puppet leads hundreds of community members through the snow in Powderhorn Park.
Ben Hovland | MPR News

About 300 people had assembled at Avalon Theatre on Lake Street and walked a few blocks down 15th Avenue to the park. Many procession participants held up paper lanterns, while others carried larger-than-life handmade puppets, recognizable from events like the MayDay Parade and Puppet Lab as well as the theatre’s puppet library, which lets people check out puppets for free.

In the Heart of the Beast’s vibrant puppetry has been a staple of Minneapolis’ Powderhorn and Phillips communities for nearly 50 years, and the organization has called the Avalon Theatre home since 1988. But in November, theatre leadership announced it was starting the process to sell the Avalon and look for a new home for its programming.

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A group of people gather in a snowy park — Hundreds of community members gather in Powderhorn Park for a winter solstice celebration.

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People hold puppets and lanterns outside a theatre — Community members hold handmade puppets and paper lanterns as they walk from In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre on Lake Street to Powderhorn Park.

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People hold lanterns and puppets as they walk down a street — Community members hold handmade puppets and paper lanterns as they walk from In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre on Lake Street to Powderhorn Park.

In the Heart of the Beast’s interim executive director Elina Kotlyar said she hopes to continue to expand on the theatre’s current programming — and make it more accessible.

She said her dream is that the new space “can be reached by as many people as want to come.”

Windchill temperatures hovered in the single digits as the procession wound its way back to the Avalon, but the lanterns cast a warm glow on participants’ faces as they plodded along the quiet neighborhood street.

A child lets out a howl on his father's shoulders — Three-year-old Finn Miller lets out a howl while perched on the shoulders of his father, Josh Miller, during a winter solstice celebration.
Ben Hovland | MPR News

Back inside the theatre, community members shared homemade soup and watched musical performances. For Kotlyar, events like the solstice celebration are integral to bringing the community together.

“Tonight is simply an opportunity to be in the moment with other people,” she said. “And the warm soup is a bonus.”

People ladle soup at a long table as people walk by — Members of Sisters Camelot serve hot soup in the lobby of In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre.
Ben Hovland | MPR News

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Minneapolis, MN

Woman blew past red light in fatal north Minneapolis crash, charges say

Published

22 hours ago

December 21, 2024

Press Room

Woman blew past red light in fatal north Minneapolis crash, charges say – CBS Minnesota

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A 38-year-old woman is facing two counts of criminal vehicular homicide in connection with Monday’s crash that killed two people and injured three others.