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Fallout continues after federal raid; officials say drugs is a growing concern in area
Continued fallout from federal raid on Lake Street; officials say drugs are a problem in the area
Continued fallout from federal raid on Lake Street; officials say drugs are a problem in the area
Continued fallout from federal raid on Lake Street; officials say drugs are a problem in the area
Fallout continues after a chaotic clash between protesters and law enforcement serving a drug trafficking warrant on Lake Street in Minneapolis Tuesday. While residents and local leaders denounced the tactics, they do say drugs are a growing problem in Minneapolis.
Healthcare officials are sounding the alarm too.
The chaotic clash is gone but questions remain — about the optics in which federal agents went about the raid at a Mexican restaurant on Lake Street.
Many believing the raid was tied to immigration enforcement, but the Department of Homeland Security calls it a "groundbreaking criminal operation."
Local leaders say the search warrant was connected to "drugs and money laundering."
"I don't know one person who's ok with drug smuggling in our communities," said Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt.
In fact — Sheriff Witt says Tuesday's operation needed to be done pointing to an uptick in overdoses.
"Look at the stats, Od's are going back up already, we have to do this work," Witt said.
According to Hennepin Healthcare, the number of non-fatal overdoses is up about 45% compared to last year. Dr. Tim Kummer, the Assistant Medical Director of Hennepin EMS calls the uptick troubling.
"When you have an increase in non-fatal overdoses, you'll inevitable have an increase in fatal overdoses," Kummer said.
Healthcare leaders say they are working on a plan to get ahead of this spike in non-fatal overdoses before they become fatal.
Back on E. Lake Street, those living in the area say they see the drug use in real time.
"We are all the time threaten by violence by drug dealers in their corners," said business owner Rodrigo Cardoso.
