Minneapolis has decided on a new site for housing its police department’s 3rd Precinct. Three and a half years after thousands of community members ransacked and torched the precinct at 3000 Minnehaha Avenue during the George Floyd Uprising, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey received approval for a new precinct at 2633 Minnehaha Avenue on November 2, 2023, which the city is calling a “Community Safety Center.”
Throughout the years, the city government worked to find a new precinct location — this year they sought insight from their constituents, conducted a public survey and held community engagement sessions. But a dedicated oppositional movement formed to counter the controversial project and the process became contentious.
In response to the city’s moves, activists held block parties, protests calling for “no new precinct” and organized their own public assemblies on community safety while unknown parties vandalized the new building multiple times.
Council Member Robin Wonsley, former Minneapolis police officer Sarah Saarela and community organizers and co-founders of Confluence Studio, Duaba Unenra and Sam Gould sat down with Unicorn Riot and gave a brief people’s history of the 3rd Precinct, explained some of the city’s process around planning a new precinct, and discussed the community-led assemblies on public safety.
