Photo and blog post by John HoffFollowing up on my repeated mentions of the "uncooperative victims problem" in North Minneapolis, and how authorities need to use new tactics to break through this "do not snitch thug code," super citizen Megan Goodmundson of the Jordan Neighborhood sifted through some of the recent "police highlights" for the Fourth Precinct, and found numerous examples of the problem...
Check out these reports and judge for yourself whether uncooperative victims are just as big a problem in North Minneapolis as criminals.
ASSAULT:
ASSAULT3-Significant Bodily Harm
18th Ave N & Newton Ave N Tuesday 4/20/10 1600 hrs 10-109576
V1/BM, 31 yrs, flagged down officer & advised that he was punched in the jaw by S1/BM, 19 yrs. The right side of V1’s jaw was swollen, & possibly broken. V1 declined further suspect info & does not wish to cooperate in the prosecution of this case. V1 transported to the hospital by his brother.
ASSAULT3/Significant Bodily Harm
Broadway Ave W & Emerson Ave N Sunday 4/25/10 1435 hrs 10-114879
Officers were flagged down to check an assault victim. V1/BM, 29 yrs, had an apparent broken arm & stated unknown S1/BM, 20-40 yrs, & S2/BF, 20-40 yrs arrived in an SUV & assaulted him. V1 was unresponsive to questions & said “I don’t want no police.” V1 was transported via ambulance to the hospital. No further info. Suspects GOA.
(JNS says: Wow! Check out the one below. Two female thugs attacking a guy and gal because they "snitched" and even their small children are involved in the attack? Whoa)
ASSAULT2
21ST Ave N & Broadway Ave W Monday 4/26/10 2030 hrs 10-116323
V1/BF, 25 yrs, was in a vehicle with her boyfriend, V2/BM, 21 yrs, when they were approached by females & children in another vehicle. S1/BF, 30-35 yrs, ran up to V2 & yelled at him. V1 recognized the females as relatives of a male she recently ID’d as being involved in a robbery of person near her house. S1 hit V2 in the face & then V1 got out of the vehicle & they began fighting. S1 told the victims they were going to be killed for putting her brother in jail. V1 fled, & S2/BF, 20-22 yrs, followed in her vehicle, stopping to swing a bat at V1, hitting her 3 times. The children in suspect’s vehicle also attacked V1. V1 was able to get away when V2 picked her up in his vehicle. V1 refused medical. Suspects GOA.
WEAP/Carry a Weapon w/out a Permit
29XX Oliver Ave N Saturday 4/24/10 2153 hrs 10-113114
Officers were dispatched to a possible Narcotics sale. Officers approached a vehicle w/the engine running & immediately noticed the barrel of a handgun protruding from underneath the front passenger seat. AP1/BM, 17 yrs, was removed from the vehicle at gunpoint & placed in handcuffs. AP1 stated he was waiting in the car for his cousin & that the vehicle belonged to someone else. AP1 would not provide further info & was booked at JDC for being Under 18 with a pistol.
(The next ones from previous week's highlights)
ASSAULT 2/w a Dangerous Weapon
33XX Oliver Ave N Wednesday 4/14/10 0228 hrs 10-102334
V1/BM, 23 yrs, had been kidnapped & carjacked in a different city & transported to Mpls. V1 was able to break out of the trunk & get away from armed suspects as they shot at him. V1 was transported to the hospital for minor injuries (no gunshots). V1 does not know S1/BM, 20-24 or S2/BM, 20-24 yrs, but S2 held a black & silver semi-automatic on him during the kidnapping process. V1 was vague & somewhat uncooperative with officers.
ASSAULT2/w a Dangerous Weapon
42nd Ave N & Lyndale Ave N Monday 4/19/10 1230 hrs 10-108259
V1/BF, 27 yrs, was approached by S1 & S2, both black females, no further information. V1 got into a fist fight with S1 after an argument. S2 pulled V1 off S1 & S1 pulled out a knife, stabbing V1 in the right forearm. V1 phoned her boyfriend who transported her to the hospital. V1 was very uncooperative with officers & would not provide any information. Suspects GOA.
ASSAULT2/with a Dangerous Weapon
44th Ave N & Fremont Ave N Sunday 4/11/10 2045 hrs 10-099889
V1/BM, 28 yrs, was in Webber Park for a picnic when he heard a shot from off in the distance & was struck in the abdomen. V1 drove himself to the hospital. No suspect information. Friends & family who were at the picnic, gathered in front of the hospital but began leaving as officers asked questions. V1 was not cooperative with information. V1’s injury is non-life threatening.
This are fairly typical events, unfortunately. And they will continue to be typical until the authorities grasp this pattern and find effective new tactics to break through this resistance.
32 comments:
I have yet to find the most recent MPD highlights. Now where does a girl friend these ? The last month I can find is January
So....Why don't the police throw these thugs in jail too?
Discharging a firearm in public is a felony offense. Protecting an individual who discharges a weapon or initiates a crime is aiding and abetting the crime.
If these idiots don't care that they were the ones who were targeted by these weapons, the police department should at least be concerned with the possible collateral damage from an event like this.
I would be less concerned if they were better shots because the problem may soon take care of itself. Allowing leniency to anyone involved only emboldens the aggressors.
Anyone stupid enough to admit to knowing their assailant and not cooperating in their arrest should be considered an accomplice.
@Eyedea, one option is to email your Crime prevention specialist and ask to get on the email distribution list - Jeff can tell you who your contact is at the 4th.
2nd option is to go the Mpls Crime Watch blog and browse them there, they usually get them posted within a day or two or three. It's one of the blogs that is linked on the right column of the JNS blog.
1915,
So you want to charge someone with a crime for being scared to testify against their attacker? What about in a domestic violence situation? Charge the battered woman too?
You're a crime fighting genius.
What about the 5th amendment to the Constitution? Doesn't it apply to thugs too?
Anyone who wants to can refuse the answer questions from law enforcement. This is how it should be.
Who cares if these idiots are beating each other up or shooting each other? Get your own house in order before you worry about these people.
It's been a couple of years since I signed up for email delivery of the weekly 4th Precinct highlights report, but I'm pretty sure you can do it at http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/police/crimealert/signup.asp
or through the Minneapolis E-Subscribe page at www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/subscriptions/
Alternately, the 4th Precinct highlights are almost always part of the WHOmail (Willard-Homewood Organization) mailing list, which can be found at http://groups.google.com/group/whomail?hl=en as well as being regularly posted on the Minneapolis Crime Watch blog at http://mplscrimewatch.blogspot.com/
One spam comment rejected.
If the cops want to break the wall of silence, they need to quit acting like gestapo thugs themselves. They even dress like gestapo now, with the SS helmets.
If SHOOTING VICTIMS aren't saying anything, that should tell the MPD something.
Maybe they should start tasering shooting victims. Or planting drugs on them, or arresting them on some pretext.
Oh, and this 1915Bung is so brilliant I have to put on some shades.
Thanks Megan.
I will say that if a person gets shot and is unwilling to tell anyone who shot them is basically committing murder themselves by letting this criminal on the streets again.
I was attacked two years ago in Uptown and I did not inform the police, now i live with the guilt that this man may be out stalking other women and trying to beat/rape them.
But I guess that most criminals do not have a conscience nor do they value human life if they are going around killing or trying to kill people.
In France if you get shot or beaten and choose not to tell the police they will hold you in jail until you do or charge you with 2nd degree man slaughter.
Everyone has free will, and the right to not say anything, But honestly, If these people are getting shot at and not saying "SHIT" then why should my tax dollars pay for their medical bills? cause these people choose to have the life of a thug and put their life on the line cause for some reason they think it is cool, or that's the only life they have? And don't give me that bull about how " the man gets them down" or " they are surrounded by drugs crime ect then why wouldn't they let their life be like that"
Like I said, EVERYONE has FREE WILL
and have the right to have a happy productive life, NO MATTER WHAT RACE or BACKGROUND you come from.
I guess is just scares me that people think its ok...
It really scares me..
For years I was in a relationship with an abusive man. He hit me often but I never told the cops.
He even got charged once because I had a black eye, but I told the prosecutor I wouldn't participate. They ended up dropping charges on the eve of trial when they couldn't find me to subpoena.
After an especially bad beating I finally got the strength to leave him. I went to the woman's shelter and got a protective order. I never told the cops about all the things he did.
It makes me really sad that you guys want people like me charged as criminals for not participating in the criminal process. I was young and scared. I thought if I told the cops he would just beat me worse, or maybe he'd even kill me.
Please people, think about the consequences of what you say. There are real people who read this blog.
John,
Your efforts to make snitching seem glamorous, at least in the african american community, are not very successful.
Maybe for those of you who want to kick all the black people out of town, snitching is something to be admired.
For me and my people, the cops have been waging war against us since we were brought to this country in chains. I'm sorry, but I don't trust the cops. Neither do my friends and family.
Talking to the cops is a good way to get arrested. I'm not a snitch and I won't become a snitch. Lock me up if you have to. I won't become a snitch in jail either.
Samantha...
I cannot possibly relate to your situation but I do have something to say.
There is a big difference between a young/naive/insecure crime victim that is afraid of retaliation and therefore does not participate... and a thug who doesn't want to help the cops so he can go find the guy that shot him and get revenge... continuing the cycle of violence and putting the rest of us at risk.
oh shamika... back at it again i see.
Snitching isn't supposed to glamorous... it's supposed to be effective.
Nobody that I know wants to kick any black people out of town. I just want to kick the criminals out of town and there are plenty of non-black criminals here too.
YOU were NOT brought to this country in chains. And if you are in chains now it's not the fault of anybody on this blog. This attitude is part of what keeps you down and makes your arguments less effective. The slave trade is over (at least when it comes to the U.S. stealing people from Africa)... so why must you act like it happened yesterday? I would hope that "you and your people" includes everybody in your community, not just those of the same color.
Even though I disagree with your attitude I do understand how the treatment of your ancestors would lead to a complete distrust of every institution in this country... except for section 8 maybe, and food stamps, and free emergency medical care. And maybe subsidized public transportation too. Oh yeah and I guess black people are entitled to everything that everybody else is so this really this isn't about the government or police... this is about individual people and their shitty attitudes about other people with different skin tone. Just cuz you think some cops have it out for you doesn't mean they all do.
Go ahead and don't trust the cops... don't snitch, don't become a snitch, enable the criminals... it's your free will to do as your please.
Maybe I shouldn't trust black people because I and other non-blacks have been hurt by them in the past? Does that make any sense!? NO!
We watch, We call.
You don't, You enable.
...and I'm ok with that. I wish you could be ok with that too and quit pulling out the race card when it isn't an issue.
Racism isn't about skin color. It's about dumb people entrenched in their ideas... and racists come disguised in all colors.
I used to have a co-worker who would put my stapler in jello. Move my desk around and put all my work stuff in the vending machine. I wanted to go to my boss but I was afriad he would demote me. I'm not sure if not telling was the right thing or not.
Dang! Looks like I hit a nerve with some pretty shallow anonymous thinkers. Very bold for folks who are afraid to stand up for themselves.
Anonymous 1 - Yup, you hit the nail on the head. Their fear is what will get the next guy victimized.
The 5th amendment can be envolked after they have been charged.
Especially domestic violence victims - do you know anything about domestic violence? The system can't help them until come to grips with the fact that they have been victimized.
I don't really understand the rest of your comments (or those of Anonymous 2), although it seems as though you are implying that you have some sort of insight into my personal life that might intimidate me from rebutting your ignorance. LOL
I'm not sure if "Dwight" is a troll or not. And I'm missing exactly what point he's trying to make. But the references to "The Office" introduce some much-needed levity, so the comment was approved.
Troll or not workplace bullying is a serious issue and blends well with the neighborhood snitching issue.
A Spanish teacher testified she was “iced out and isolated” for four years by older colleagues in her school district. Once a marathon runner, she now suffers from clinical depression, chest pain, panic attacks and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. Dr. Deborah Lemke told lawmakers of an unnamed Wisconsin hospital where the nursing supervisor verbally bullied nurses on his staff. When she intervened on behalf of the nurses, she herself became a target.
Anon 9:49,
I'm not even sure what point you're making? Are you saying we should continue to talk to the police as informants or not?
Workplace issues are not the point of this post and comment thread and I'm gently asking JNS readers to stick to the issue at hand.
While I can't imagine what it's like to fear abuse and retaliation if one talks to authorities, that is a very different issue from the discussion at hand as well. I might add, however, that the abuser is still at large when domestic abuse goes unreported.
The same problem applies to the thug mentality of being deliberately uncooperative with the police. The original perpetrators of crime and violence remain uncaught. Even without justifying such acts, attempts of "street justice" often wind up killing innocent bystanders. Nothing in the "stop snitching" argument has convinced me that either my community or I are better off when people are deliberately uncooperative.
I don't have any sympathy for people who do not cooperate with the police, and that includes victims of domestic violence.
My boyfriend hit me once and I did everything I could to get him prosecuted. Ultimately the Hennepin County Attorney's Office didn't care too much about it because we're both men. But I don't see how the situation should be any different for a woman.
Shamika,if you ever get shot and know who the perp is, i hope you will do the right thing and not snitch because, whoever your sorry ass is, you will be doing society a HUGE favor.P.S. I love You.
Don't trust the cops then don't call them next time your house is being broken into, or prostitutes are on your street.Or when your son gets beaten for his Ipod and is in the hospital for 6 months.
I don't understand why you wouldn't. The whole idea that someone doesn't call makes my respect and empathy dwindle down to nothing.
I'm sick of all people of race and background complaining about the lack of control they have. YOU have as much control as the next man.
As for "Talking to the cops is a good way to get arrested. I'm not a snitch and I won't become a snitch. even in jail"
Go ahead, don't snitch. Then ill just call you to shooo away the prostitutes and crack dealers off my street so they can spit on you and spray you with soda.
AND
This isn't a blog about race or anything like that...
Its like, When someone is singing a song and you ask them who sings it and you say " keep it that way "
This is a blog about northside and making it better, if you don't want to discuss anything that this blog is about, then make your own blog where you can continue having these race fights and make society take a few steps back.
way to go!!
ANYWAYS
How about them twins!?!
Can't the powers that be just stop posting Shamika comments. All of her comments are idiotic and make me not want to read this blog anymore. Editing is good.
Wendy - there are "johnny northside" haters out there who are coming here and posting fake, made up comments that are so obnoxious and irritating and contrary (mixed in with some other made up voices)they are trying to get the powers that be to NOT publish them because there is a lawsuit against the JNS blog right now pertaining to freedom of speech. That is why over the past few months you have seen the obnoxious comments get worse & more prolific.
Well, let's remember that police don't prosecute people. Prosecutors prosecute. Prosecutors should prioritize.
Prosecutors are perfectly free to prioritize prosecutions through their prosecutorial discretion. Thugs who won't tell cops who shot them should get high priority.
I went back and corrected my post and reposted it below Megan's. Right. The prosecutors are doing the prosecuting.
I'm not worried that domestic violence victims would get caught in some kind of broad net. Clearly, there is a way to go after these uncooperative thugs who know or have a good idea who shot them...and won't open their mouths to the police.
While I don't necessarily abide by the "Don't Snitch" motto, I do understand why some wouldn't want to call the cops when they or a family member get hurt. When I lived in Cincy, most people were afraid to call the cops because they were afraid of retaliation -- not that they wanted revenge. Yes, some of it about that, I'm sure, but that doesn't mean everyone's thinking the same thing. Some are just honestly afraid to end up in the hospital or worse because they did the right thing. Can't say I blame them. Especially when the cops there would rather be playing their damn hand-held game systems instead of stopping crime in the hood (that actually happened while I lived there; I can't remember if those guys were fired or just suspended for a while).
I used to be the kind of person who believed in "my only concern is what's going on in my house," but after having participated in a neighborhood watch with a friend in Indy over the past two years before we moved here, I changed my views.
Wendy,
When you put together the number one blog in the twin cities you can tell John how to run this one. For now, you should keep your thoughts to yourself.
Shamika:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. "
DURRRHHHH
P.S... You know you contradicted yourself right?
I know it can be hard to type and think at the same time....
When it comes to public safety and fighting crime, people who refuse to help solve crime need to be punished. By not revealing information pertinent to solve crimes, they are in effect promoting crime. In this post-911 world of terrorism everywhere, the "Fifth Amendment" is the "Stop Snitching" amendment and seems rather quaint and anachronistic.
Oh, give me a break Sean troll. Give me a break.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thank_You_for_Not_Snitching
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