Police have finally revealed the reason why a State Patrol helicopter was circling over south Minneapolis last week.
Minneapolis PD said that the chopper was used as part of an operation alongside the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office Violent Offender Task Force to crack down on the recent carjacking crime wave.
It resulted in 41 felony level arrests, the recovery of seven stolen vehicles, and five guns.
It comes following a 320% increase in reported carjackings compared to 2019, with 391 reported in Minneapolis so far in 2020.
The operation happened in the area where 355 of those carjackings took place, with suspects typically approaching drivers, starting a conversation, and then stealing purses, cellphones, wallets and vehicles, sometimes at gunpoint.
MPD also said that with the aid of the helicopter, police were also able to make 9 gross misdemeanor arrests and confiscated a pipe bomb.
The use of the chopper occasioned much comment from those living in south Minneapolis, with police initially tight-lipped about the reasons it was being used over the course of the three-day operation.
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