Plan To Fortify 4th Precinct Introduced By Mpls. City Councilman
UPDATE: Councilmember Yang's amendment was struck down at around 11 p.m. Wednesday.
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A heated debate broke out at Wednesday evening's Minneapolis City Council meeting over discussion on plans to improve safety at the north Minneapolis police station.
Council member Blong Yang introduced an amendment that would provide $605,000 in one-time spending for safety and accessibility improvements to the 4th Precinct.
It comes after members of the Black Lives Matter group protested for 18 days outside of the police station over the police shooting death of Jamar Clark.
"You don't care about black people," one activist told city council members at the meeting. "And if you want to reinforce that precinct, you'll have another Ferguson. You'll have another Baltimore. Are you ready for that?"
The city council is also considering an amendment that would add and accelerate training for all police officers.
In a statement, Mayor Betsy Hodges said: "Ensuring that police officers are fully trained to conduct themselves fairly, recognize and unlearn the biases that we all carry with us, and respond appropriately during crisis is a high priority for residents, businesses, officers, and the community."