The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is now helping local authorities monitor the “autonomous zone” that has popped up around George Floyd Square in Minneapolis, Fox News reported.
The autonomous zone has reportedly brought record levels of gun violence and other violent crime since last May, according to Fox News.
Members of the community have pleaded with law enforcement to step in and put an end to the scourge of crime.
George Floyd Square has been set up around where the video of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on the neck of Floyd while police tried to detain him was first recorded, according to Fox News. The square became a memorial and a popular demonstration spot in the immediate aftermath of Floyd’s death, Fox News reported. To protect demonstrators from traffic, the city of Minneapolis put concrete barriers in place, but now those barricades are being used by certain armed members of the autonomous zone to keep law enforcement out, according to Fox News.
Within the autonomous zone limits, gang activity, drug dealing, and gun violence are plaguing residents and local businesses, Fox News reported.
“The current situation at 38th and Chicago is unacceptable and will not and must not be tolerated,” Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo proclaimed at a Wednesday press conference, according to Fox News. Arrandondo also announced that the FBI Minneapolis Field Office, U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Minnesota, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), St. Paul Field Division will be helping local authorities out an end to the autonomous zone, according to Fox News.
“Violence in any part of our city must be addressed and those contributing to the harm of our neighborhoods have to be held accountable,” Arradondo added, Fox News reported. Previously, the Minneapolis City Council has cut police department funding, as well as settled a civil suit with Floyd’s family to the tune of $27 million.
The police cuts have diverted resources away from the autonomous zone, and the National Police Association has taken legal action on behalf of the residents and businesses located in the autonomous zone in order to get law enforcement to patrol the neighborhood again, Fox News reported.
“We are going to restore peace and safety to that neighborhood, and we’re going to do it collectively with the help and a force multiplier by our partners. And we will not tolerate that any longer, and that intersection must be reopened.” Arrandono said Wednesday, Fox News reported.
*story by The Daily Caller
