Minnesota officials clash on security plan for Chauvin trial

By MOHAMED IBRAHIM  @  dailyjournal.net, 2/13/21 5:08 PM

MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota politicians clashed Wednesday over who should pay for security during next month’s murder trial of the former police officer who pressed his knee into George Floyd’s neck, a proceeding certain to bring the city heightened attention and the potential for more unrest.

Democratic Gov. Tim Walz highlighted a proposed $35 million State Aid for Emergencies account that would reimburse local governments for “unplanned or extraordinary public safety events.” The funding is aimed at helping law enforcement prepare for protests over the trial starting March 8 for Derek Chauvin, the white officer who pressed his knee into the neck of Floyd, a Black man who was handcuffed and pleading for air.

“If we’re not able to put this account in place, it hampers plans that have been being made for these trials for months,” the governor said at a news conference. “This is an opportunity for Minnesota to put a face forward to the world to show that we can protect First Amendment rights and we can make sure that public safety is adhered to.”

The proposal has drawn resistance from rural Republicans who say their communities shouldn’t be forced to “bail out” Minneapolis and St. Paul. GOP Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka said in a statement Wednesday that his caucus will introduce an alternative plan later this week that would reimburse law enforcement agencies for mutual aid “without taking general fund dollars away from education, healthcare, or transportation.”

“We are not going to bail out (the) Minneapolis city council after they have made cuts to the public safety budget,” he said. “Actions to defund the police have consequences.”

House Republicans echoed Gazelka’s statement at a news conference of their own, saying the proposed fund does not address what they see as the increasing demonization of law enforcement.

The governor was criticized by Republicans last summer for not sending in the National Guard sooner to quell unrest that turned violent in Minneapolis and St. Paul after Floyd’s death sparked worldwide protests.

Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington said the state is coordinating with the FBI and the federal Joint Terrorism Task Force, in addition to more than 200 chief law enforcement officers across the state, to prepare for next month’s trial. Harrington said the proposed fund would help reimburse law enforcement agencies from other parts of Minnesota, which he said are willing to send personnel but concerned about the extra costs.

The House public safety committee approved the proposal Tuesday, with an additional provision requiring law enforcement agencies to follow a model policy created by the state’s police licensing board for responding to protests. While Walz said he hopes the proposal can get approved by Monday to give agencies time to prepare, the bill does not yet have a companion in the GOP-controlled Senate.

Calls for more cops on NYC subway grow louder following A train carnage

By David Meyer and Dean Balsamini @ NYPost.com, February 13, 2021 | 6:03pm

The outcry for more cops on city subways reached a fever pitch Saturday in the wake of a killer’s rampage on the A line. And the NYPD appeared to be listening, announcing at least 500 more officers would be on patrol underground by Monday.

Shell-shocked riders and angry officials pulled no punches in demanding safer subways, as a massive manhunt got underway for a lone madman believed to be responsible for fatally stabbing two homeless people and slashing two others in a 14-hour span Friday and Saturday.

Shaken straphangers at the A train’s Far Rockaway Mott Avenue station called for stepped-up security, including increased patrols and even metal detectors.

“It’s scary. It’s really scary. I’ve never felt safe on the subway, but I’ve always known I’ve had to take them,” said Marissa Augustus, 17. “I’m scared for my life.”

Maurice Moore, 33, said the subways are simply not safe at night anymore [.....]

these guys are definitely asking for more cops and tougher policing, they are asking for tough policing and punishment for anti-social behavior, not a slap on the wrist, and they are not asking for social workers:

Union Leaders Demand Harsher Penalties for People Who Spit on NYC Transit Workers

By Alyssa Paolicelli Manhattan @ NY1.com, UPDATED 9:52 PM ET Feb. 12, 2021

NEW YORK — Robert Singh has been a Metro-North Railroad conductor for nine years. In September, a commuter spit at Singh after the conductor said he could not ride the train without a ticket.

"It was completely unexpected, it was unprovoked,” Singh said Friday. “There was no altercation with the person, it was a normal regular conversation."

Singh was taken to the hospital, tested for COVID-19 and HIV, and given medication. As a result, he said, he missed work without pay for five weeks.

The police never caught his attacker, but even if they did, Singh said it would not have mattered.

"You get a ticket, you pay the ticket, your life goes on. What happens to the person you spit at?” questioned Singh.

A coalition of transit worker unions say MTA bus, subway and commuter railroad workers were spat at more than 200 times last year.

A proposal in Gov. Andrew Cuomo's budget would make spitting and other forms of aggravated harassment against transit workers punishable by up to one year behind bars.

Bus operators like Wayne Nelson are now calling on the state legislature to pass the proposal. He says he was driving an M7 bus in Manhattan when a commuter who refused to wear a mask spat at him.

"We need better protection and we need to be much more respected,” Nelson said at a Friday news conference in Manhattan with the Transport Workers Union demanding more punishment.

There were about 60 more assaults and cases of aggravated harassment, which includes spitting, against transit workers in January than in December.

But a police officer has to witness an incident of aggravated harassment before an arrest can be made. The governor's proposal would do away with this standard and allow officers to investigate based on an incident report that a transit worker files [....]