Demuth Announces Public Safety Proposals at Event with Minneapolis Police Federation

(KNSI) — Republican House Speaker and candidate for governor, Lisa Demuth, announced a series of public safety proposals Monday at an event with members of the Minneapolis Police Federation.

Demuth says the proposals were developed from feedback she received from law enforcement officials, community members, county prosecutors, and former school board members after a recent surge of gang violence. They build on a public safety plan she released earlier this month.

She is calling for a permanent statewide gang task force, led by the Department of Public Safety, to coordinate state, local, and federal resources.

Demuth also pointed to the case of the man accused of shooting two people at the Eden Prairie homecoming game. He was released from jail Sunday after posting bond. Citing a judicial plan she released earlier this year, Demuth pledged to appoint judges who put victims first and uphold the rule of law. She says she would also appoint attorneys who share that philosophy to the judicial selection commission.

Demuth repeated her proposal to require that state funding to municipalities first fully fund police. She says the change would allow police to do their jobs.

The Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis endorsed Demuth for governor last week.

Meanwhile, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat and a candidate for governor, outlined her own public safety proposals Friday at an event with current and former prosecutors and law enforcement officials. She served as Hennepin County Attorney for eight years before her election to the Senate.

Klobuchar says she would establish a Regional Gang Violence Task Force, led by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, with law enforcement from seven metro counties as well as Minneapolis, St. Paul, Metro Transit, and college and university police departments. She also proposes state grants for cities and counties to hire and retain officers, more funding for BCA forensic and investigative capacity, and expanded threat-assessment and hate crime efforts. She says she would sign the gun safety package that passed the Minnesota Senate, which would ban assault weapons, strengthen safe storage standards, and improve school security.

The general election is Tuesday, November 3rd. Early voting is underway now.

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