Two Minneapolis citizens appear desensitized to their city’s worsening crime in a viral video of a downtown shootout early Sunday morning. The Uber driver’s dashcam recorded the incident.
The interaction between the female passenger and Uber driver is calm despite the violence occurring in front of them.
In the dashcam video, the woman approaches the Uber driver’s car at a normal walking pace. A gunshot rings out. Then six shots. The woman enters the Uber as three more shots ring out; one of the fleeing individuals behind the woman dives and collides with the Uber.
The following is a description of what transpired.
“Hi!” The woman said.
“Get in, get in, get in.” The driver said.
As she opens the door, the sound of people screaming can be heard. She asked calmly, “Are you my Uber?”
“Yup, get in.”
“Okay. Hi, not what I was expecting…”
“No, we’re getting outta here…”
As the driver maneuvered fleeing people and swerving cars, he said calmly, “Just give me a second here.”
Their Uber reverses and circles around to head down a side street. Other cars seen on the street are driving erratically, crossing lanes while slamming brakes or speeding up. A swarm of panicked people cross in and out of the street.
The Uber driver simply said, “Whoo!” after he swerves around a police car. The female passenger chuckled. She continued to laugh and says, “So I started over here… Well, f***. That happened.”
Comments on the video ranged from incredulity to light-hearted memes about the pair’s passive response to the violence.
Minneapolis City Council (MCC) hasn’t addressed the Uber video. However, in a “police department study session” Tuesday, MCC expressed frustration with the rising crime rates in their city. Chief Medaria Arradando fielded council members’ questions about constituent reports. The council relayed stories of an influx of gun violence, robberies, prostitution, drugs, and carjackings.
According to the council, police are explaining to constituents that there aren’t enough of them to address the crime. The council has acted on their express intent to fully defund and dismantle MPD.
Over 100 police officers have left the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) – over double from previous years’ averages.
Mayor Jacob Frey hasn’t addressed the Uber video either. Frey’s main focus has been addressing the “unnecessary and deadly force” by police. Over the course of 20 years, there have been a total of 31 fatal police encounters. Criminals have committed around 59 homicides and shot over 400 people in Minneapolis this year alone.
Council President Lisa Bender (Ward 10) stated that their study session didn’t fully answer constituent questions or result in any conclusive courses of action to reduce crime. Bender added that future study sessions and similar work on community safety would be transferred to the Public Health and Safety Committee.
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Corinne Murdock is a reporter at The Minnesota Sun and The Star News Network. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Minneapolis Uber Video” by Josh Lekach.
