The city of Minneapolis is seeking the public’s help in deciding where it should locate the headquarters of the Third Precinct police station.
The Third Precinct’s headquarters, located at Lake Street and Minnehaha, was destroyed days after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who used to work at that precinct, killed George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds. The city is considering restoring the precinct where it once stood, or several blocks away at 26th and Minnehaha.
Residents at an open house hosted by the Longfellow Community Council last May, mostly opposed the precinct’s headquarters returning to Lake and Minnehaha, with participants wanting the site to be dedicated as a place of care. “They want to see it become a pillar of the community that does not look like a fortress on the corner of one of the most important intersections in the area,” said Longfellow community organizer Bennett Olupo, adding that some wanted to see the building razed or repurposed for people needing access to services such as shelter, health care, food, jobs, and surviving sexual assault.
The city will host four meetings, with the first meeting being exclusively for business owners, to help understand the community’s thoughts on where the precinct should ultimately be located. They are:
- Business owners: Tuesday, April 11, 6:30–8:30 p.m., at Hook and Ladder Theater and Lounge, 3010 Minnehaha Ave.
- General public: Thursday, April 13, 6:30– 8:30 p.m., at Midtown Global Market, 920 E. Lake St.
- General public: Saturday, April 15, 10 a.m.– noon, at Roosevelt High School, 4029 S. 28th Ave.
- General public: Wednesday, April 19, 6:30– 8:30 p.m., location TBD.
The city will provide food and beverages, as well as vouchers to Midtown Global Market vendors for the first 100 participants at the April 13 meeting.
Currently, the Third Precinct police officers work out of the City of Lakes building in downtown Minneapolis.
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