Minneapolis neighbors, advocates call for accountability after city clears encampment following shooting

MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey says he'll direct city staff to expedite the closures of homeless encampments throughout the city.

This comes one day after four were shot, two fatally, at or near encampments on the city's south side.

Frey slammed encampments Wednesday night, saying they are "in place because of fentanyl".

"Encampments are not the answer if we truly care about our neighbors," wrote Frey in a release Thursday.

Frey's memo went on to slam the Minneapolis City Council, who Thursday, passed proposals to fund a city homeless shelter and to require mandatory eviction reporting.

"This is irresponsible," Frey wrote.

For people living near the encampments cleared this week, it's the latest in a frustrating saga. Neighbors describe hundreds of calls to 311 city services, 911 and the mayor's office.

"You call 911 and you might as well save your quarter," said Doug Latteral, who lives across the street from where a man was shot and killed Wednesday evening. "Why wait until it comes down to someone getting shot before they clean anything up?"

Getting the authority to clear encampments isn't always easy, per Minneapolis Regulatory Services Director Enrique Velazquez.

Velazquez says it takes multiple agencies coming together – and present threats to public health, public safety, community livability, and the environment.

Each closure takes $10,000 to $20,000, but city mitigation efforts to keep encampments open and safe have cost 10 times as much, he estimates.

"Encampments, period, are not a dignified form of housing," Velazquez said. "We maintain a minimum housing code for a reason that sets the stage for success. It sets the stage for livability. For safety. For life safety. It's the foundation. It's the bedrock for people to grow from there. Encampments aren't it."

Velazquez blamed fentanyl, issues with mental health, and housing – although he insists there are beds open for people who currently need them.

Like Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara, who accused volunteers supplying encampments with supplies of doing more harm than good, Velazquez called activists' approach "misguided".

"While it's a kind gesture, it definitely hurts our ability to help those individuals in the encampmetns move out and into a more dignified form of housing," he said.

Advocates like Naomi Wilson couldn't disagree more.

"I don't think bringing food in is enabling them. I think it's taking care of our neighbors," she said. "They don't feel safe. When they mayor talks about fentanyl being the cause. Or drug dealers open in encampments, he's feeding into mob violence."