Activists call on Minneapolis City Council members to come to crime scenes

MINNEAPOLIS (KMSP) - Minneapolis peace activists are pleading with city council members to show up to crime scenes.  

Sunday, nineteen-year-old Nathan Hampton was shot and killed in a park while attending a kickball game in broad daylight and in front of children. It’s that recent murder that inspired peace activists from the group "A Mother's Love" to speak out at the Public Safety Committee meeting Thursday and plead for help and ask Minneapolis City council members to show up.

“It’s time for you all to come out to our community and talk to us about these homicides, especially now that stray bullets are killing our kids or our kids are standing next to somebody who is bold enough to come to a park and shoot somebody in broad daylight, point blank,” said Lisa Clemons, a community activist. “Babies playing in the park, are we kidding?”

Clemons and other activists say they recognize council members show up at police shootings and hold community meetings, but they believe being seen at every day crime scenes and spending time in the neighborhoods could really help where help is so desperately needed.

“You can’t say that you’re doing the will of the people when we can’t see you,” said Jamar Nelson, a community activist.

“I’m saying please come out and be present,” said KG Wilson. “If you have to do some door knocking and let people know who you are and give them numbers and let them know they can depend on you, you truly care about them.”

But council members say they are out there doing whatever they can.

“I definitely hear what folks are saying, I have been out to several crime scenes, I have been out door knocking,” said Council Member Phillipe Cunningham.

“I did want to push back on the narrative that people only show up for police shootings as Council Member Cunningham said he and I have both been at various crime scenes,” said Council Member Jeremy Ellson. “I was at the crime scene for the shooting that happened just this past week.”

The group says the amount of violence is not a police problem, but a people problem and they need the support and guidance of their elected officials.

“When you got elected, you got elected by some of them family members too - sick of it,” said Clemons.