Minnesota Report
In our mind, Metro Transit Police Chief Rick Grates is guilty of dereliction of duty. Rampant drug use in plain sight on metro transit system. We have seen it first-hand. Sure, video cameras on the Light Rail and buses, but police present is spotty at best. Daily, there are people riding the Light Rail Transit, who likely haven’t paid to do so, who cluster and smoke substances from folded pieces of aluminum foil. People openly smoke cigarettes, joints, and e-devices without any fear of reprisal. If you ride the train for more than an hour, on any given day, at anytime of day, you can see it too, unless you are in uniform. We need an plain-clothed police presence of nondescript people who look like the average transit riding public.
The Metropolitan Transit Commission is out of whack. There should be regular arrests and prosecution of this ilk for their complete and total disregard of anyone other than themselves. In the aftermath of George Floyd, it is clear law enforcement and its leadership are allowing lawlessness to run unfettered on our streets and in community spaces. The video footage should be monitored and because it is a captured audience, evidence of a crime, and a public nuisance, which discourages others from using the system, it must be responded to directly and changed. Let them do as they will and pick them up on the next stop and take them away.