Minneapolis mayor says he's committed to recruiting new police officers after judge's ruling

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Minneapolis police leaving in droves

Former Minneapolis police officer Steve Dykstra on violent crime spiking in the city after George Floyd’s death.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey admitted the city has a shortage of police officers Friday, a day after a judge ruled the city needs to hire more cops by June of next year, according to reports. 

Frey called the high rate of attrition "problematic" and promised the city will focus on recruitment to bulk up the numbers, FOX 9 in Minneapolis reported. 

Hennepin County District Judge Jamie L. Anderson said the city needs to have at least 730 officers by June 30, 2022, or .2% of the population, in a decision over a lawsuit brought by the conservative Upper Midwest Law Center. The city is currently expected to have about 669 officers by next June.

"Minneapolis is in a crisis," the plaintiffs wrote in the complaint, citing the rise in shootings and homicides and the violent George Floyd protests.

JUDGE ORDERS MINNEAPOLIS TO HIRE MORE POLICE OFFICERS

Jacob Frey, mayor of Minneapolis, speaks during a news conference at City Hall in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S., on Thursday, June 3, 2021. (Getty Images)

Frey, a Democrat, said he "always opposed" defunding the police and said he "entirely" supports police Chief Medaria Arradondo. 

"This is a both/and approach," Frey said, according to FOX 9. "We need community-oriented strategies that go beyond policing and you need officers as well. It is our intention to make sure that we are pushing for allocations both through [the American Rescue Plan] as well as through the ongoing budget to make sure we are bringing the necessary personnel into the Minneapolis Police Department."

Many officers in Minneapolis and elsewhere have left in the last year amid often violent anti-police protests. 

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"Part of assisting [the chief] in getting the right outcomes," Frey continued, "means that we need to give him the necessary tools that he needs to succeed."