Mayor Larson and Chief Tusken hold a feel-good press conference (all quotes in this timeline item are taken from this Fox21 Online article). During it, they repeatedly praise police for their restraint (these are officers supposedly trained and paid to know how to deescalate prior to taking any other action, and yet deployed tear gas against protesters.
From the article “‘Couldn’t be prouder, couldn’t be prouder,’ said [Chief Tusken], commending his officers for their restraint during one of the city’s biggest protests Saturday and their continued patience into what he calls an unprecedented event once darkness fell. ‘It was a very stressful event and they were measured, they were brave, they showed compassion, they showed respect,’ Chief Tusken said.”
Is it showing restraint to arrest kids? To tear gas citizens who are protesting police violence?
“About 150 Duluth Police officers– basically the full force –were deployed Sunday. ‘They come at a cost, yes,’ Mayor Larson said. The Chief said all of the manpower does come at a heavy price tag when Duluth is already cash-strapped due to the effects of Coronavirus on businesses….‘The alternative of not having that resource deployed last night and what could have happened whether we have people injured, we have people killed, we have buildings that are damaged or property that are damaged, think that the response was certainly commensurate with the potential risk,’ he said.”
This fear-mongering (after previously saying that citizens were to be commended for good behavior) and dismissal of the very real costs of massive police deployments during a time when the city is already negotiating budget cuts to other resources is irresponsible at best.
“Meanwhile, evidence does not support a caravan of people coming here from the Twin Cities to escalate things, Mayor Larson said. ‘It’s so much easier for us to want to place that. That’s anger from somewhere else, that for that agitation and fear and hurt to be our own. But it’s us,’ she said.’”
IMPACT: If the agitation and fear and hurt is our own, doesn’t that speak to the fact that things are not all well in the City of Duluth in regards to police? When will the Mayor and the Chief recognize this, and what will be done? The BIPOC and other marginalized residents of Duluth are clearly not the priority for our city leadership.
Photo from CBS3Duluth.com news article “Duluth Police make 11 arrests overnight, deploy tear gas to break up crowd”
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