"People Have Had Enough": Minneapolis Police Chief Issues Warning

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara appeared on CBS’s Face the Nation Sunday morning to address escalating tensions following a fatal shooting involving federal agents.

During the interview, O’Hara described the current situation in the city as "absolutely not sustainable." He said, "This police department has only 600 police officers. We are stretched incredibly thin.This is taking an enormous toll trying to manage all of this chaos on top of having to be the police department for a major city. It's too much."

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Federal Partnerships Under Fire

O’Hara was asked about the recent resignations of Minnesota-based federal prosecutors and an FBI agent.

(Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

The sad part of this is the incredible work that we have done with all of federal law enforcement over the last few years to get real criminals put away—gang members, people that are shooting folks out here, bringing smuggling fentanyl into this city.

He said seeing federal agents disparaged or resigning is "destroying the foundation of addressing violent crime in Minnesota."

The Shooting of Alex Pretti

Regarding the shooting of Alex Pretti on Saturday, Jan. 24, O'Hara was asked if there was any evidence to show that Pretti was assaulting the federal officers, as the Border Patrol Chief has claimed.

(Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Well, I've seen the videos just as thousands of people around the country have and the videos speak for themselves. I think it's deeply concerning the things that are being said. This is an individual that was a city resident. It appears that he was present exercising his first amendment rights to record law enforcement activity and also exercising his second amendment rights to lawfully be armed in a public space in the city.

Highlighting a string of recent events, O’Hara noted that the community’s patience has been exhausted.

People have had enough. This is the third shooting now in less than three weeks. The Minneapolis Police Department went the entire year last year recovering about 900 guns from the street, arresting hundreds and hundreds of violent offenders, and we didn't shoot anyone. And now this is the second American citizen that's been killed.