Minneapolis City Council approves $6.4 million to expand police department
Jay Ettinger, Minneapolis resident and business owner, reacts to the decision on ‘Fox & Friends.’
A Minneapolis resident and business owner said Tuesday that members of the Minneapolis City Council have "blood on their hands" due to the increases in crime after the city’s police budget was cut in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
"They saw a whole different kind of opportunity," Jay Ettinger said of council members who called for the defunding of police following the George Floyd protests. "They saw an opportunity to take down a system and they’ve got a lot of blood on their hands right now because of it."
Ettinger’s comments came after the city’s council voted unanimously to approve $6.4 million in additional funding for the police department. The city backtracked on its original push to defund the city’s police department after residents begged the city to hire more officers, citing longer response times and increased violent crime.
Ettinger told "Fox & Friends" he is not surprised by the public outcry for more police funding.
"If you gave this script to a Hollywood director … they would laugh at the premise, it's so absurd," he said.
Ettinger believes the public should make their voices heard at the ballot box in November’s council elections.
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"This is the most important election in this city’s history," Ettinger told Steve Doocy. "I mean, if we get it right, we can turn this around really quickly."
"What this city looks like today compared to two and three years ago is startling," he added. "And so this election, we got to get it right, and we have to vote for the greater good. We have to vote for what’s best for everybody in our community."
Fox News’ Bradford Betz contributed to this report.
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