Latest news with #BrianO'Hara
Axios
02-07-2025
- Axios
Minneapolis promises crackdown on July 4 fireworks chaos
Minneapolis police leaders are promising stepped-up staffing and a no-nonsense attitude toward anyone using fireworks to "cause chaos" during the July 4 weekend. Why it matters: Over the last three Independence Day holidays, Minneapolis has contended with social media-fueled gatherings of young people shooting fireworks at each other — and occasionally at police officers and other residents. Flashback: MPD has responded with increasing numbers of arrests, Chief Brian O'Hara told reporters. Officers arrested 35 teens and young adults in last year's late-night chaos centered in Dinkytown. No injuries were reported last year, but previous pyrotechnic melées, including around Bde Maka Ska in 2023, left some participants permanently injured. What they're saying:"This behavior will not be tolerated. If you come to Minneapolis with the intent to harm, disrupt or intimidate, you will be arrested," O'Hara said Wednesday. "This year we are even better prepared." Though O'Hara didn't give specifics, he said more MPD officers will be working this weekend than any of the last three years for the holiday and the Taste of Minnesota festival downtown. What we're watching: The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board will again close several parkways and limit vehicle parking around Bde Maka Ska and along the Mississippi River during the holiday weekend. This repeats a tactic that Park Police Chief Jason Ohotto said has been successful in tamping down these gatherings at previous July 4 trouble spots, including the Mill District and Stone Arch Bridge. Zoom out: Beyond fireworks chaos, the Independence Day holiday is a dangerous time for gun violence. In 2023 and 2024, over the week of July 4, MPD was responded to twice the typical number of calls for shootings, gunshots or a person with a gun, city officials said in a press release.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
In memo to staff, Minneapolis PD reaffirms policy of not aiding immigration enforcement
In memo to staff, Minneapolis PD reaffirms policy of not aiding immigration enforcement originally appeared on Bring Me The News. Following a chaotic clash between federal officials and protesters outside a Mexican restaurant in south Minneapolis, the city's assistant police chief is reiterating the department's stance on assisting with immigration enforcement. Katie Blackwell sent the memo late last week to their sworn and civilian staff members, reaffirming their police officers are not allowed to respond or assist in any "immigration enforcement-related activity" and also shall not "assist with crowd control at an immigration enforcement related activity." Last week, a crowd of protesters gathered outside Las Cuatro Milpas restaurant on Lake Street and Bloomington Avenue in south Minneapolis after rumors floated that a immigration enforcement operation was underway. Local and federal officials have since confirmed they were not conducting a deportation raid, but rather carrying out search warrants related to a large-scale drug and money laundering investigation. Minneapolis Police Department came in for criticism from some elected officials after officers were called in to provide crowd control services while the operation was carried out. Police Chief Brian O'Hara criticized federal law enforcement for the "tone deaf" manner in which the operation was conducted, and says his department wasn't informed until it was already underway.A spokesperson for the department tells KARE 11 the memo 'serves as a clear reminder of the Minneapolis Police Department's longstanding policy and the City's ordinance prohibiting involvement in federal civil immigration enforcement activities.' They went on to say: 'Our role remains focused on addressing criminal activity and maintaining public safety, while respecting the boundaries set by city ordinance and department policy." Ongoing immigration raids carried out by the Trump administration have drawn backlash and demonstrations in cities across the country. President Donald Trump has ordered the National Guard and Marines to respond to ongoing clashes between protesters and law enforcement in Los Angeles, drawing criticism from Governor Gavin Newsom, who says California's state sovereignty is being violated. A national day of protest dubbed 'No Kings' is planned for Saturday. A local group has organized a march and rally at the State Capitol in St. Paul. This story was originally reported by Bring Me The News on Jun 10, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Minneapolis City Council votes for independent audit of federal raid at local restaurant
Minneapolis City Council votes for independent audit of federal raid at local restaurant originally appeared on Bring Me The News. Minneapolis City Council on Thursday voted unanimously in favor of launching an independent audit of the operation conducted by federal law enforcement including Immigration and Customs Enforcement at a Minneapolis restaurant this week. By a 12-0 vote, the council says the Office of City Auditor will now conduct an after-action review of the operation conducted outside Las Cuatro Milpas at Lake Street and Bloomington on Tuesday. Militarized vehicles and heavily armed agents from ICE, the FBI, ATF and DEA descended on the scene, drawing a large crowd of protesters. The review will investigate Minneapolis Police Department's involvement in the raid – one of eight reportedly conducted across the Twin Cities on Tuesday – to determine whether it was in violation of the city's separation ordinance that prohibits MPD from assisting ICE with the enforcement of immigration laws. Authorities involved in the operation, including Hennepin County Sheriff's Office, said that it didn't relate to immigration enforcement, and was instead part of a large-scale criminal investigation into drugs and money laundering. However, ICE agents had already been at the scene for several hours by the time this information was released. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara has said he was only informed of the raid after it had started, while Mayor Jacob Frey says Minneapolis officers were only present for "crowd control" and "keeping the community safe." In a statement on Wednesday, O'Hara said his officers were called at about 11:15 a.m. to "help de-escalate and stabilize a rapidly escalating situation involving confrontations between members of a crowd and federal agents." A video was shared on social media Thursday showing one MPD officer pushing a protester who was recording him, while there were reports from the scene that federal agents used pepper spray during the crowd response. View the to see embedded media. O'Hara criticized the way the federal operation unfolded, saying that even though it wasn't related to immigration enforcement, "the manner in which it was executed was tone deaf to the reality of tensions and fear in our community." "I have communicated my concerns directly to our federal partners," he said, adding that the operation on Tuesday "revealed just how sensitive and intense the issue of immigration enforcement remains in our city." But both O'Hara and Frey have been among those criticizing some of the elected officials who were on the scene on Tuesday, accusing them of spreading misinformation about the nature of the operation, claiming fears that it was an immigration raid at a time of mass deportations by the Trump administration led to escalation at the scene and "only served to inflame tensions." As mentioned earlier, agents wearing ICE badges were visible outside the restaurant when the operation started shortly after 10 a.m., and it wasn't until just after 1 p.m. that a statement was issued by MPD clarifying that the operation wasn't related to immigration. During Thursday's council meeting, Councilor Jason Chavez, who was among those posting to social media from the scene , called on Chief O'Hara to name those he believes were spreading misinformation. Chavez told MPR News that at no point did he post that the operation was an ICE raid, but he state that ICE was at the scene and shared images confirming that fact. "Which elected officials are you talking about in your emails and in your media press releases? And chief, I'm asking you right now, name them," Chavez said. Councilor Aurin Chowdury says that the escalation was the fault of the federal agents on the scene. "I find it extremely disappointing that leaders up here are taking time to blame escalation on alerting community members that ICE was on the ground when the reason for escalation that occurred was a militarized force with assault rifles in our community, she said. "Before anyone posted anything everything was escalating, there werre several armored vehicles, people with zip ties, their faces covered in a heavily immigrant corridor at a time when ICE detentions have occurred in our city." This story was originally reported by Bring Me The News on Jun 6, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
1 dead, several wounded in Minnesota's Boom Island Park ‘war zone'
A woman was killed and five men wounded late Sunday when a mass shooting turned Minneapolis's Boom Island Park into a 'war zone,' officials said. Another woman was hospitalized after being knocked unconscious in the chaotic aftermath, Minnesota Police Chief Brian O'Hara told reporters at a Monday-morning press conference at the park. Investigators said there was likely more than one shooter, given the number of shell casings, and that no arrests had been made. The Hennepin County Medical examiner identified the woman killed as 23-year-old Stageina Katraya Shapryia Whiting from Brooklyn Center on Monday. She suffered a gunshot wound to the torso. The gunfire broke out during a dispute at a large gathering in the Mississippi River-adjacent park, O'Hara said, and calls began coming in around 9:30 p.m. Police arrived to find about 100 people in the park. Chief O'Hara said a large crowd had gathered at the park Sunday evening, perhaps for a BBQ, when an argument escalated into gunfire. His investigators believe multiple shooters were involved in the incident, as hundreds of pieces of evidence were strewn around the park, many of them empty shell casings. 'It's more akin to a war zone, the amount of casings found in the park. It's sickening and we need people to come forward,' O'Hara said. 'The level of violence displayed in this shooting is absolutely sickening, and our investigators will work diligently to bring whoever is responsible to justice.' Mayor Jacob Frey called the violence 'completely unacceptable' in a social media post stating that just this week, the city launched 'Operation Safe Summer' to curb violence. City statistics showed more than three dozen law enforcement units responded to the gunfire. CBS News reports that at least one Minneapolis City Council member wants to see Boom Island close its gates by 8 p.m.
CBS News
14-05-2025
- CBS News
Man shot, "left for dead in an alley," Minneapolis police say
Wildfires still out of control in northern Minnesota, and more headlines Wildfires still out of control in northern Minnesota, and more headlines Wildfires still out of control in northern Minnesota, and more headlines A man in his late 20s was shot and "left for dead in an alley" early Wednesday morning in Minneapolis, the city's police chief said. A caller reported someone down in an alley near Lake Street East and 17th Avenue South around 1:50 a.m., according to the Minneapolis Police Department. The caller said they had heard a gunshot about 20 minutes prior. Officers had responded to the area around 1:20 a.m. after a ShotSpotter activation, but found nothing, the department said. When police responded a second time, they found a man gravely wounded by a gunshot. He was taken to Hennepin Healthcare, where he died. "We cannot, and will not, standby [sic] and tolerate this kind of violence in our city," Police Chief Brian O'Hara said. "I urge anyone with information to contact our tip line or reach out anonymously through CrimeStoppers." No one has been arrested in connection with the shooting.
