XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, mn.politics, talk.politics.guns   
   XPost: sac.politics, alt.politics.democrats   
   From: democrats@vote.stupid   
      
   One day after a drive-by shooting injured four kids in north Minneapolis, the   
   Hennepin County attorney and Minneapolis police chief are sparring over   
   strategies to stop the cycle of juvenile crime.   
      
   Police said the four victims were inside a stolen Kia around 1 a.m. Sunday   
   when automatic gunfire erupted from a vehicle following them on West Broadway   
   Avenue.   
      
   Two boys and two girls between the ages of 11 and 14 were injured, and one   
   girl who was shot in the head was brought to the hospital in critical   
   condition. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said on Monday that all of   
   the victims were expected to    
   survive.   
      
   “I think, in a lot of ways, we are failing to deter this activity,”   
   O’Hara said the night of the shooting. “Two of the five juveniles involved   
   in this incident were arrested not even two weeks ago for being in a stolen   
   car.”   
      
   In a statement on Monday, a spokesperson for Hennepin County Attorney Mary   
   Moriarty said none of the juveniles were referred to her office for youth auto   
   theft early intervention.   
      
   O’Hara called a news conference later in the afternoon to counter that   
   claim, saying the two juveniles in question were detained and released in   
   connection with a car theft on Aug. 9, and his department had been following   
   up to refer their cases as    
   recently as Friday.   
      
   “The county attorney’s office could have taken at least two of these kids   
   off the street 10 days ago prior to this happening, but for whatever reason,   
   they didn’t,” O’Hara said on Monday.   
      
   When asked if MPD planned to refer the five kids in the stolen vehicle that   
   was targeted in the shooting for an early intervention program, O’Hara said   
   his department’s priority is “the other kids that shot.”   
      
   In their statement, Moriarty’s office said the auto theft intervention   
   program was created specifically for when police do not have enough evidence   
   to bring charges and that MPD has only referred four juveniles since April.   
      
   O’Hara rebuffed that claim as well, saying MPD regularly refers kids to   
   community-based resources and the county attorney’s diversion programs.   
      
   In a statement, the Hennepin County Chiefs of Police Association, representing   
   nearly three dozen law enforcement agencies, called finger-pointing   
   unproductive.   
      
   The statement reads, in part:   
      
   “Families of these young people and our communities look to us as leaders to   
   hold these juveniles accountable and keep our cities safe. We hope that the   
   Hennepin County Attorney will work with law enforcement to hold criminals   
   accountable, get youth    
   the interventions they need, and work to prevent recidivism. Pointing fingers   
   is unproductive and a disservice to our young people, our communities, and   
   those who rightfully expect us to work together to solve these problems and   
   prioritize the safety and    
   well-being of our citizens.“   
      
   https://kstp.com/kstp-news/top-news/mpd-chief-hennepin-county-at   
   orney-spar-over-referral-of-juvenile-crime-cases/   
      
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    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)