Somali leaders in the Twin Cities are criticizing Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher, after he posted a livestreamed video discussing gang violence among Somali youth.
In the video posted to his social media pages, Fletcher and other staff in the sheriff’s office said those gangs have been responsible for some recent shootings.
Local Somali leaders said they are aware that violence among young people is a problem. But they said Sheriff Fletcher should have brought the issue to Somali leaders, parents and imams instead of hosting a livestreamed conversation about it.
Imam Yusuf Abdulle is the executive director of the Islamic Association of North America and cofounder of the Somali American Leadership Table. At a press conference Tuesday, he said the sheriff’s discussion could fuel rhetoric against the Somali community.
“Over the last year, our community has been called criminals. We have been called garbage. We're being accused of not belonging here. Our children have been publicly targeted simply because they wore hijabs,” Abdulle said. “Against that backdrop, every public statement carries even greater weight.”
In his video, Fletcher spoke about gang violence among Somali youth with investigators and community service officers, some of whom are Somali. No community members or leaders outside the sheriff’s office were involved.
“It's just a small number of kids, but they are causing a lot of trouble for the Somali community,” Fletcher said. “We want the help of the community.”
Community leaders said they are already working to steer kids away from violence. They said it was a topic of conversation at the recent four-day Somali American Vision Summit, which many community leaders attended early in July.
Former Minnesota State Representative Hodan Hassan said Fletcher had not reached out to her or any of the other leaders present at Tuesday’s press conference.
“I'm inviting everybody to come to the table. But having conversations about us on a livestream does not solve any problems. It just adds to the criminalization and demonization and vilification of this community,” Hassan said.
In a statement, Fletcher said he’s focused on addressing gang violence.
“I have worked with the Somali community for 20 years,” Fletcher said. “I welcome the opportunity to collaborate with all organizations wanting to address youth gang violence.”
Fletcher invited parents and community leaders to join a community meeting on July 21 at 6 p.m. at the Arden Hills station at 1411 Paul Kirkwold Dr.
