Moriarty, Holton Dimmick Contrast in Hennepin County Lawyer Battle
A two-year rise in violent crime has put the race for Hennepin County’s top prosecutor in the spotlight.
Hennepin County, Minnesota (FOX 9) – A two-year rise in violent crime put Hennepin County’s chief prosecutor’s race in the spotlight, and candidates had to battle it out for the November election.
Former Hennepin County Chief Public Advocate Mary Moriarty won 36% of the vote in the August seven-man primary. Retired Hennepin County Judge Martha Holton Dimmick received the second most votes.
The candidates are most clearly at odds over police issues. said.
Both are Minneapolis residents, meaning they voted for question 2. This is his failed 2021 ballot initiative that will replace the Minneapolis Police Department with a safety agency tasked with taking a public health approach to crime. Holton Dimmick said he voted against it. Moriarty declined to reveal how she voted.
Moriarty said, “I didn’t talk about what my vote was for specific reasons. , said prosecutors may demand that they remove themselves.
Moriarty has the support of Question 2 supporters, according to Hennepin County and Minnesota campaign finance records. The Movement Voter PAC, a Massachusetts-based committee that donated $250,000 to groups endorsing Question 2 in 2021, has since donated $60,000 to a group called People Over Prosecution, which endorses Moriarty in the county attorney’s election. donated.
Moriarty counts among her supporters supporters and opponents of the MPD poll question. He pointed out Nekima Levi Armstrong, who supported Artie.
Holton Dimmick, on the other hand, compared Question 2 to the “police defense” movement.
“What effect do you think it had on the criminals in our neighborhood? It was like putting up a ‘go’ sign. Just go ahead and commit crime. did,” she said.
Scheduled Candidacy
Moriarty said he would step up intervention programs for troubled youth. Holton Dimmick is advocating a “criminal-tough” approach that prosecutors have tried and failed for decades, Moriarty said.
Holton Dimmick said he wants the Minneapolis Police Department to have 900 officers, the number pre-COVID-19 pandemic and pre-police murder of George Floyd. Earlier this month, he had 563 active sworn officers, according to city records.
Moriarty also plans to stop Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman’s practice of sending police misconduct cases to other counties for review before deciding whether to file charges.
Both candidates said they would prosecute officers who commit crimes or violate a person’s civil rights. rice field.
“I think one of my jobs as a county attorney is to flag videos of minor policy violations, larger policy violations, and share them with police leadership because they are prosecutors. There’s something going on in the lives of these cops that’s making them act a certain way. [Derek] Chauvin on the buds,” Moriarty said.
Holton Dimmick said the county attorney’s office would not be able to wield significant influence over the MPD. , she said.
“I think the culture is very damaged,” she said. “I think the culture has been corrupted for a very long time.”
freeman grading
Moriarty has been a vocal critic of Freeman, who has held the office of chief prosecutor since voters elected him in 2006.
Holton Dimick said Freeman’s tenure would be “B-minus, possibly C-plus”. Transparency within the office must be improved under the next county attorney, she said.
“I think Mike has a big heart, a good heart. But I think the lack of communication, the lack of transparency over the last few years really hurt him,” she said, particularly in her review of police misconduct. said of his interactions with suburban police chiefs.
Violent crime increased 23.9% in the seven-county Twin Cities Metro last year, according to state data.
The impending change at the top has some staff uneasy.
Holton Dimmick said some prosecutors are considering whether to resign if Moriarty is elected president. said.
“I heard this. ‘Are you going to come in and fire us all?’ No, the answer is no,” Moriarty said. “That’s not who I am as a person, as a leader in the office.”
There have been no waves of turnover in the year since Freeman announced his plans to retire, according to county attorney’s office data. As of August 1, there were 492 of his staff, including 223 attorneys. Those figures are up slightly from his staff of 470 and his lawyers of 213 a year ago.
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