Brian O'Hara

And with the level of staffing that we have and the time that it takes to get the national guard to come in, it will be too late.

That's my fear.

So we have placed a very strong emphasis on use of force, on employing de-escalation

on the use of critical decision-making practices.

We have gone out and had dozens of community meetings to get input from community as we revise our policies.

And I think it all boils down to trying to fight crime in a way that earns community trust, as opposed to alienating people.

Absolutely.

And in the midst of all of those challenges, while we're trying to heal this community, while we're trying to heal the men and women who have remained here and rebuild, while they're already the most scrutinized police department in the nation.

And I can tell you, the cops here, we're human beings.

And I worry that we might hit a breaking point.

Well, I can tell you the role of the police and law enforcement in the United States is first off to protect life, but it's also to ensure people's human rights and their constitutional rights.

And people in this country have a First Amendment right to observe, record, and object to government activity.

And that includes the activity that Minneapolis police officers do, as well as other law enforcement in our city.

And so it is a challenge, but it's a challenge that policing in America has been dealing with and trying to improve upon for many years.

It does add a level of complication to our work.

But I just want to be clear, though.

I'm not asking for federal law enforcement to do anything differently than what I expect the men and women of the Minneapolis Police Department to do.

Residents, yes, you can have your protest.

Please do it peacefully.

I've been concerned for weeks that because the issue is so emotional and because, frankly, some of the way this stuff has been carried out,