After coming under fire for her efforts to engage the community, Minneapolis Chief Janeé Harteau on Wednesday defended her decision to pull out of a community forum last week and dismissed the notion that the move made her appear weak and ineffective.
Harteau's comments came a day after drawing criticism from several community leaders who said that Harteau had ignored their requests to discuss solutions for the street violence that has swept the city in recent months. A recent spate of shootings has left at least three people and wounded 16 across the city, including three people shot at a south Minneapolis gas station Tuesday morning.
At a news conference Wednesday on the North Side, the chief once again cited security concerns as her reason for pulling out of last week's "listening session" on police accountability. She was not concerned for her own safety, Harteau said, but for that of her officers.
Speaking to reporters, she also pointed to numerous community initiatives as evidence of her commitment to community engagement, such as the formation of the department's Youth Advisory Committee.
But some officials remained unswayed by her comments.
"I might not be aware of everything that she knows and I certainly respect her opinion not to attend. I think that I was informed about most of the reasons she was concerned and what she was concerned about, but it wasn't clear to me that we should cancel the meeting," said City Council Member Cam Gordon, who attended the community forum last week at Sabathani Community Center, 310 E. 38th St., after hearing about the chief's rationale for missing the meeting.
