Minneapolis seeks community input on rebuilding the Third Precinct police station

“Not only was he hard of hearing, but he was 65 years old—he was an elderly person. He had disabilities because he lived in a disability building. He was a veteran so I think we should have a little more respect for him.”

Several state representatives and several members of

Xiong’s family spoke at the protest on March 24. Paula Yang, Xiong’s niece, called for the Black and Hmong communities to stand together in addressing the slayings of community members by police.

“As we all stand and watch Black lives deteriorate, today we say Black lives matter, because we lost so many brothers and sisters in the system through police brutality,” Yang said. “We need each other; we’re all going to embrace each other like this from now on.”

“I have a sister,” Yang said as she linked arms with Garraway Allen as a symbolic gesture of unity between the Black and Hmong communities.

The nephew of Yia Xiong, Charles Xiong, said his family has been going through “some of the darkest days of our lives”

Herr says he joined members of Xiong’s family and the Hmong community to meet with St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter and SPPD Chief Axel Henry after sending them a letter. Herr said the group left unsatisfied.

“They made it clear to us that no specific questions may be answered pending on [Bureau of Criminal Apprehension] investigations,” Herr said. “Nothing was really clarified or answered to our satisfaction.”

Herr and the Justice for Yia Xiong organization continue to call for two demands: that the two police officers involved need to be jailed and prosecuted by Attorney General Keith Ellison, and for reforms to be made at SPPD that improve both deescalation tactics and cultural awareness of the Hmong community and other minorities.

Cole Miska welcomes comments from readers at cmiska@ spokesman-recorder.com.

By H. Jiahong Pan

Contributing Writer

The city of Minneapolis is seeking the public’s help in deciding where it should locate the headquarters of the Third Precinct police station. Currently, the Third Precinct police officers work out of the City of Lakes building in downtown Minneapolis.

The Third Precinct’s headquarters, located at Lake Street and Minnehaha, was destroyed days after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who used to work at that precinct, killed George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds. The city is considering restoring the precinct where it once stood, or several blocks away at 26th and Minnehaha.

Residents at an open house hosted by the Longfel- low Community Council last May, mostly opposed the precinct’s headquarters returning to Lake and Minnehaha, with participants wanting the site to be dedicated as a place of care. “They want to see it become a pillar of the community that does not look like a fortress on the corner of one of the most important intersections in the area,” said Longfellow community organizer Bennett Olupo, adding that some wanted to see the building razed or repurposed for people needing access to services such as shelter, health care, food, jobs, and surviving sexual assault.

The city will host four meetings, with the first meeting being exclusively for business owners, to help understand the community’s thoughts on where the precinct should ultimately be lo- cated. They are:

• Business owners: Tuesday, April 11, 6:30–8:30 p.m., at Hook and Ladder Theater and Lounge, 3010 Minnehaha Ave.

• General public: Thursday, April 13, 6:30– 8:30 p.m., at Midtown Global Market, 920 E Lake St.

• General public: Saturday, April 15, 10 a.m.– noon, at Roosevelt High School, 4029 S 28th Ave.

• General public: Wednesday, April 19, 6:30– 8:30 p.m., location TBD.

The city will provide food and beverages, as well as vouchers to Midtown Global Market vendors for the first 100 participants at the April 13 meeting.

H. Jiahong Pan welcomes comments from readers at hpan@ spokesman-recorder.com.