OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Public Health and Safety Committee Meeting - October 1, 2025

City Council — Wednesday, October 1, 2025
BodyMinneapolis, Minnesota
SessionCity Council
DateWednesday, October 1, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:40:45

Transcript — Verbatim
0:14

Welcome to the regular meeting of the Public Health and Safety Committee for October 1st, 2025.

0:20

I am Jason Chavez, the chair of this committee.

0:23

Before we begin the meeting, I want to offer a friendly reminder to all members, staff, and the public that these meetings are broadcast live to enable greater public participation.

0:32

These broadcasts include real-time captioning as a further method to increase the accessibility of our proceedings to the community.

0:39

Therefore, all speakers need to be mindful of the rate of their speech so that our captioners can fully capture and transcribe all comments for the broadcast.

0:46

We ask all speakers to moderate the speed and clarity of their comments.

0:50

At this time, I will ask the clergy to call the roll so we can verify a quorum for this meeting.

0:56

Council President Green.

0:58

Present Rainfall.

1:01

Present.

1:03

Present.

1:05

Present.

1:07

Vice Chair Wandsley.

1:08

Present.

1:09

Chair Chavez.

1:10

Present.

1:10

We have six presents.

1:12

Let the record reflect that we have a quorum.

1:14

I'll remind my colleagues that we'll be using speaker management today.

1:17

So please make sure that you're signed up.

1:19

And before we move on to the consent agenda and amendment to the consent agenda, I'd like to acknowledge the murder of Mariah Samuels from the North Side and her experience with domestic violence.

1:30

I joined the calls from the family that is seeking justice, holding the perpetrator accountable and holding the Minneapolis police department accountable for this case.

1:39

Her murder was preventable.

1:41

She deserves support from this government, and now she deserves justice and change.

1:47

One of her sisters said she loves animals.

1:51

She loves her sons.

1:53

She was sweet.

1:55

She was outgoing and she was free-spirited.

1:58

We loved each other.

2:01

And she is my everything.

2:03

Her family called for help.

2:09

And today I am publicly calling for justice and accountability for her family and for Mariah alongside my colleagues.

2:19

And I know that when we amend the agenda to talk about the Davis Maturi case, we'll have more to say because what happened to Mariah should have never happened.

2:32

And it should have been preventable.

2:35

And her family and her loved ones deserve justice.

2:47

Thank you, Chair Chavez.

2:49

I do motion to uh amend the agenda to include uh the walk-on legislative directive that you and I are co-authoring together um regarding uh requests made by uh Davis Motori and can talk more about it once we uh get to it and it's amended to the agenda.

3:07

Um, but it's to um ask the uh mayor's administration for the release of their internal review regarding uh his case and shooting.

3:19

So with that, I will uh motion to approve of the adding of this item to the consent agenda um and ask for a second.

3:30

Second.

3:31

Well, seeing that there's no discussion, all those in favor say aye.

3:34

Aye.

3:35

Any opposed, say nay.

3:37

Abstentions.

3:38

That motion carries and the agenda is amended.

3:43

Uh colleagues, now we'll start with the consent items.

3:48

Item number one is referring to staff and ordinance amendment related to the small and underutilized business enterprise program.

3:55

Item number two is referring to staff and ordinance amendment related to regulations for the use of possession and storage of firearms.

4:03

Item number three is referring to staff and ordinance amendment related to workplace regulation enforcement provisions and exemptions.

4:10

Item number four is approving an appointment to the homegrown Minneapolis Food Council.

4:15

Item number five is referring an updated report on the pollution control annual registration fee to October 7th, 2025 committee the whole meeting.

4:25

Uh and with that, I'll move all these items for approval and and did want to make a comment.

4:32

Were you hoping to add uh number six to the consent?

4:37

Okay, and also uh the Davis Mattori legislative directive.

4:42

Colleagues, do you have any questions on one items one through six?

4:47

Vice Chair Wansey.

4:50

Thank you, uh, Chair Chavez.

5:00

Um, I just wanted to take a few minutes to speak to this item, which again is the legislative directive that uh Chair Chavez and I are bringing forward, which asked for an update on the internal review made by the Minneapolis police department regarding the shooting of Davis Matori.

5:15

On September 18th, Davis Matori emailed the council requesting information related to uh MPD's internal review of the circumstances related to him being shot by his neighbor, John Sawchak last October.

5:31

There was a bit of a delay on my end and seeing the responses that he received, but I was surprised to read that upon sending that email, Mr.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Safety█████████████████████████████████████████████51%
Public Health███████████13%
Budget Management██████7%
Homelessness██████7%
Personnel Matters████4%
Emergency Management████4%
Intergovernmental Relations███3%
Mental Health Services███3%
Procedural██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Public Health and Safety Committee Meeting - October 1, 2025

This regular meeting of the Public Health and Safety Committee, chaired by Councilmember Jason Chavez, covered a range of public safety topics including nonfatal shooting investigations, behavioral health treatment access, and an update from the Office of Community Safety. The committee also amended the consent agenda to include a legislative directive regarding the Minneapolis Police Department's internal review of the Davis Motori shooting. Key presentations from experts, county officials, and city staff highlighted both challenges and evidence-based strategies for improving clearance rates and crisis response.

Consent Calendar

  • Item 1-5: Routine referrals and approvals including an ordinance amendment on small and underutilized business enterprise program, regulations on firearms, workplace regulation enforcement, an appointment to the Homegrown Minneapolis Food Council, and a report on pollution control fees.
  • Item 6 (added): Legislative directive requesting the release of the Minneapolis Police Department's internal review regarding the shooting of Davis Motori. Co-authored by Chair Chavez and Vice Chair Wansley, it passed unanimously after discussion.

Discussion Items

  • Nonfatal Shooting Investigations:

    • Dr. Will Cooley (Minnesota Justice Research Center) presented on the state-wide clearance rate problem, noting Minneapolis solves only 23% of nonfatal shootings vs. 65% of homicides. He highlighted the need for resources, manageable caseloads, and better training.
    • David Zimmer (Center of the American Experiment) shared best practices from agencies like Denver and St. Paul, emphasizing standalone units with dedicated investigators, top-down support, and treating nonfatal shootings as “failed homicides.”
    • Ramsey County Attorney John Choi presented St. Paul’s success: clearance rates rose from 37% in 2023 to 70.5% in 2024 after creating a standalone unit, with a 30% reduction in shots fired and 70% reduction in homicides year-to-date. He stressed collaboration and a victim safety fund.
    • Council members raised questions about clearance definitions, staffing limitations, and comparisons with Minneapolis. Councilmember Palmasano noted MPD already working with National Public Safety Partnership on similar recommendations. Vice Chair Wansley emphasized that better clearance rates mean more justice for victims and families.
    • The presentation was received and filed.

  • Care Courts & Behavioral Health Treatment Access:

    • Sarah Renner (Legislative Policy and Research) presented a landscape analysis of care courts (California's CARE Act) and behavioral health services in Hennepin County. Key stats: 69% of unhoused persons in Hennepin County have a mental health diagnosis; only 17% of adults with co-occurring disorders receive integrated treatment. The report noted limited data and gaps in services, especially for the unhoused.
    • Options included: voluntary engagement pilot (using Hennepin County’s new grant), better integration between BCR and county services, and data transparency.
    • Council President Payton praised the report for outlining gaps before involuntary commitment. Councilmember Rainville noted the gap between care court petitions (2,042) and actual participants (550). Chair Chavez expressed personal opposition to the care court model but supported the information-gathering directive.
    • The report was received and filed.

  • Office of Community Safety (OCS) Quarterly Update:

    • Commissioner Todd Barnett introduced new staff and highlighted the NYU policing project, Safe and Thriving Communities Work Group, and proactive communication campaigns.
    • Will Christensen (Design and Implementation Director) reported 22 completed actions from the Safe and Thriving Communities Report, including embedded mental health clinicians in 911 and contract monitoring competencies.
    • Christina Dowling (Senior Project Manager) updated on Lake Street Safety Center: 419 visitors since November 2024, modified hours based on data, and positive provider surveys.
    • Bethlehem Yahala (Performance Management and Innovation) presented on a traffic control response pilot inspired by Charlotte’s civilian crash investigator program, and an embedded social worker pilot now operational.
    • Deputy Chief John Kingsbury (MPD) reported violent crime trending down (homicides, shooting victims, robberies), improved response times, and overtime details ($11.3 million in CSOT through August). He noted 29 new officers graduated and 21 more starting.
    • Director Rachel Sayre (Emergency Management) highlighted readiness activities, responses to two mass shootings in Q3 (Annunciation and Lake Street), and ongoing recovery efforts.
    • Due to time constraints, the remaining presentations (Fire, Neighborhood Safety, and 911) were moved to the October 15 meeting.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent Agenda Approved: Items 1-6 passed unanimously, including the Davis Motori legislative directive.
  • Nonfatal Shooting Presentation Received: Filed; next steps include continued advocacy for state funding (HF 2742) and exploring local replication of the St. Paul model.
  • Care Courts Report Received: Filed; council members noted opportunities for collaboration with Hennepin County on voluntary engagement and data integration.
  • OCS Quarterly Update Partially Received: Remaining departments (Fire, Neighborhood Safety, 911) deferred to October 15, 2025 Public Health and Safety Committee meeting.
  • Meeting Adjourned at approximately 4:15 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Welcome to the regular meeting of the Public Health and Safety Committee for October 1st, 2025. I am Jason Chavez, the chair of this committee. Before we begin the meeting, I want to offer a friendly reminder to all members, staff, and the public that these meetings are broadcast live to enable greater public participation. These broadcasts include real-time captioning as a further method to increase the accessibility of our proceedings to the community. Therefore, all speakers need to be mindful of the rate of their speech so that our captioners can fully capture and transcribe all comments for the broadcast. We ask all speakers to moderate the speed and clarity of their comments. At this time, I will ask the clergy to call the roll so we can verify a quorum for this meeting. Council President Green. Present Rainfall. Present. Present. Present. Vice Chair Wandsley. Present. Chair Chavez. Present. We have six presents. Let the record reflect that we have a quorum. I'll remind my colleagues that we'll be using speaker management today. So please make sure that you're signed up. And before we move on to the consent agenda and amendment to the consent agenda, I'd like to acknowledge the murder of Mariah Samuels from the North Side and her experience with domestic violence. I joined the calls from the family that is seeking justice, holding the perpetrator accountable and holding the Minneapolis police department accountable for this case. Her murder was preventable. She deserves support from this government, and now she deserves justice and change. One of her sisters said she loves animals. She loves her sons. She was sweet. She was outgoing and she was free-spirited. We loved each other. And she is my everything. Her family called for help. And today I am publicly calling for justice and accountability for her family and for Mariah alongside my colleagues. And I know that when we amend the agenda to talk about the Davis Maturi case, we'll have more to say because what happened to Mariah should have never happened. And it should have been preventable. And her family and her loved ones deserve justice. Thank you, Chair Chavez. I do motion to uh amend the agenda to include uh the walk-on legislative directive that you and I are co-authoring together um regarding uh requests made by uh Davis Motori and can talk more about it once we uh get to it and it's amended to the agenda. Um, but it's to um ask the uh mayor's administration for the release of their internal review regarding uh his case and shooting. So with that, I will uh motion to approve of the adding of this item to the consent agenda um and ask for a second. Second. Well, seeing that there's no discussion, all those in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed, say nay. Abstentions. That motion carries and the agenda is amended. Uh colleagues, now we'll start with the consent items. Item number one is referring to staff and ordinance amendment related to the small and underutilized business enterprise program. Item number two is referring to staff and ordinance amendment related to regulations for the use of possession and storage of firearms. Item number three is referring to staff and ordinance amendment related to workplace regulation enforcement provisions and exemptions. Item number four is approving an appointment to the homegrown Minneapolis Food Council.

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