The Minneapolis City Council voted 12-1 to repeal two city ordinances that some residents decried as racist.
The council voted to abolish two city ordinances that banned spitting and lurking in many public places. We wrote about the issues a few weeks ago on the blog, and it’s no surprise that the council decided to wipe away the law. Many thought the original laws unfairly targeted minorities, as arrest data revealed that African Americans were more likely to be arrested for lurking than white people, but white people were more likely to phone police about a suspected lurker.
Miski Noor, an activist for Black Lives Matter Minneapolis, said the move was a step in the right direction for racial equality, but other reforms are still necessary.
Lone Dissenter
The vote was nearly unanimous, but council President Barb Johnson cast the lone vote in favor of keeping the laws in place. President Johnson said the lurking law help prevent larger crimes, like auto theft or breaking and entering.
“My citizens — when they’re contacting me — are concerned about people in their alleys,” Johnson said. “People are sometimes carjacked out of alleys.”
Minneapolis police Lt. Bob Kroll was also opposed to the repeal, saying the lurking law helped his team prevent more serious crimes. He added that the Minneapolis police force arrest 89 individuals for lurking in 2014,
“Oftentimes in the lurking cases, there’s a 911 caller that’s providing the description of somebody that’s doing something,” he said. “So for the officers to stop anyone other than what’s described in the call would be foolish for them.”
So while you may be able to loiter on the street corner and spit on the street in Minneapolis, think twice before you pull the same move in St. Paul. The sister city still prohibits lurking with the intent to commit certain crimes, like prostitution and selling drugs, and St. Paul still has a law that bans spitting in some public areas.
Related source: Pioneer Press
