Shocker: Minneapolis Neighborhood That Took a White Guilt Pledge Not to Call the Cops Suffers Its Third Sexual Assault in a Month

The article, as Ed Morrisey notes, refuses the reader the information that this neighborhood took a pledge to never call police, and now has a sprawling homeless encampment in a park previously used by children playing.

Now adult homeless people and assorted other invaders are having all the fun.

Three sexual assaults have occurred since late last month in south Minneapolis at Powderhorn Park with the most recent as Sunday, where hundreds of homeless people have been encamped, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board said Tuesday.

The first incident occurred late on June 26 or early on June 27 and involved a girl being assaulted, said Park Board spokeswoman Robin Smothers. People from the park brought the girl to Abbott Northwestern Hospital for examination, and she was later turned over to social services personnel. No arrests have been made.

A caller reached 911 to report a woman being assaulted at the park on June 27. The woman received medical attention and city police arrested 40-year-old Jonathan Taylor nearby. He’s charged with groping the woman in their tent. She's the same victim he is charged with raping on May 22 in a Brooklyn Center hotel.

On Sunday, a girl was assaulted by a man in the park. A Metro Transit police squad vehicle was flagged down that afternoon, and "after further questioning, the victim reported the assault," said Park Board spokeswoman Robin Smothers.

The neighborhood considered putting a cap on the size of the vagrant population they were willing to let squat in the park formerly used by their children.

But they decided to let as many bums come in as possible.

RICHARD TSONG-TAATARII – STAR TRIBUNE FILE Powderhorn Park in south Minneapolis is the site of growing homeless encampments. TEXT SIZE EMAIL PRINT MORE Three sexual assaults have occurred since late last month in south Minneapolis at Powderhorn Park with the most recent as Sunday, where hundreds of homeless people have been encamped, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board said Tuesday.

The first incident occurred late on June 26 or early on June 27 and involved a girl being assaulted, said Park Board spokeswoman Robin Smothers. People from the park brought the girl to Abbott Northwestern Hospital for examination, and she was later turned over to social services personnel. No arrests have been made.

A caller reached 911 to report a woman being assaulted at the park on June 27. The woman received medical attention and city police arrested 40-year-old Jonathan Taylor nearby. He’s charged with groping the woman in their tent. She’s the same victim he is charged with raping on May 22 in a Brooklyn Center hotel.

On Sunday, a girl was assaulted by a man in the park. A Metro Transit police squad vehicle was flagged down that afternoon, and “after further questioning, the victim reported the assault,” said Park Board spokeswoman Robin Smothers.

The girl remained at HCMC as of late Tuesday morning. Hennepin County Child Protection Services is involved, and a suspect has been arrested but not yet charged.

Further information about the incidents have yet to be released by the Park Board.

Junail Anderson, whose Freedom from the Streets community organization is assisting with one of the encampments, said sexual assaults “can happen in any park.”

Anderson said the people staying in Powderhorn Park are keeping tabs on one another and holding nightly meetings to discuss any common issues.

She said the city needs to step up and help people find places for them to live.

“We’re hoping and praying that the mayor listens to us,” Anderson said. “If people are worried about people being preyed on, than give us housing we can afford.”

Carlos Losano Enrique, who calls Powderhorn Park his temporary home, said, “I see a lot of arguing but no fighting.” Two days ago, he said, someone broke his car’s windshield, but he’s not ready to leave yet.

“The reason I am here is because I need a house,” he said. “I came here the first day they opened, and I have been here for almost five weeks.”

On July 1, a divided Park Board rejected a plan that could have restricted homeless encampments in parks across the city, including the sprawling community at Powderhorn Park that leaders say has become the largest in state history.

The board has accommodated hundreds of homeless people who migrated across Minneapolis in the midst of the unrest following the police killing of George Floyd on May 25.

Last month, commissioners voted to allow homeless residents to stay overnight at city parks. Yet it has struggled to contain order at the Powderhorn site, where two encampments at the northern end of the park have now grown to more than 600 people in 415 tents, the board disclosed last week.

It's amazing that the Star Tribune refuses to report critical information, such as the pledge taken by residents to never call the cops, no matter whose child gets raped.

posted by Ace at 06:00 PM

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