Minneapolis' MAD DADS anti-violence program is on the defensive after two of its outreach workers were arrested Wednesday during a raid of their North Side apartment that authorities say turned up guns and drugs.
It wasn't immediately clear whether the men were the target of the raid, which was carried out by Hennepin County sheriff's deputies.
County jail records show that one of the defendants, a 46-year-old man, was booked about 6:50 a.m. Wednesday on suspicion of drug possession; he remained locked up later that afternoon. The other man, 35, was being held, also without bail, on weapons charges. He also had an outstanding state Department of Corrections warrant, records show.
Neither had been charged as of Wednesday afternoon.
The Star Tribune generally doesn't name suspects until they have been charged with a crime.
Founded in 1989 by a group of black parents who were fed up with unchecked gang violence and drugs, MAD DADS (Men Against Destruction, Defending Against Drugs and Social Disorder) now has chapters across the country. The organization enlists former offenders and others with street credibility to connect with young people and resolve disputes before they escalate into violence.
The chapter's president, V.J. Smith, said Wednesday he was still gathering information about the raid, while insisting that the episode wouldn't divert the group from its mission of "rescuing their children, families and cities from drugs, gangs and violence," as outlined on its website.
"We help guys turn their lives around — sometimes they do, sometimes they don't," said Smith, a frequent presence at crime scenes across the city.
