MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – At National Night Out in the Twin Cities, the topic of how to improve police and community relations became front and center of neighborhood conversations.
Minneapolis tallied more than 1,600 National Night Out events. Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo made the rounds, stopping at many neighborhood parties across the city. At a National Night Out party in the Phillips neighborhood, he listened to concerns surrounding the Thurman Blevins shooting.
“They are holding us to a high standard and we need to live up to that,” said Arradondo. “I’ve always said relationships are always about proximity, what has made the difference the men and women of this department, going out having those conversations, and building those relationships. I think the worst thing we can do as a city when we face turbulence, is to hunker down, and wait for those storm clouds to go by.”
Approximately 70 MPD teams mingled at neighborhood parties, continuing this conversation. In St. Paul, the community saw 60 new National Night Out parties form for the first time.
“How can we get justice when something is done wrong? How can we heal? How can we build trust and how can we unify?” said VJ Smith, of MAD DADS, an activist organization focused on fighting crime and community violence.
For almost a decade, Minneapolis has had bragging rights of the #1 in the nation for the amount of people who participate in National Night Out. For many, the hope is to use the opportunity for connection and conversation as momentum for healing.
“This is a start,” said Nicole Young, of Open Door Evangelistic Ministries, a ministry with a presence at the Phillips neighborhood National Night Out event.
“You’ve gotta start somewhere. We all need to break bread and love each other together,” she said.