Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman has announced that he will not run for re-election.
“I formally announced today that I will not seek re-election as Hennepin County Attorney in November 2022,” Freeman said in a press release.
Freeman, 72, will step down after 24 years of service, being that he completes the remaining months of his term.
“This is a great public law office,” Freeman shared with News Talk 830 WCCO’s Susie Jones. “We are committed to doing the right thing every day in everything we do and we have done so there have been no public scandals or shame in this office but when we make mistakes as you will we have admitted them and tried to right the wrong.”
Related
This follows other recent announcements like State Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka stepping down from his position and to run for governor.
Many have been critical of Freeman over his long career. Last summer when George Floyd was murder activists were upset that his office did not issue an arrest warrant for Chauvin sooner and that they did not bring strict enough charges against him.
Because of this, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison took over as the lead prosecutor in the case, immediately raising the charges against Chauvin.
Still, Freeman completed many different accomplishments throughout his career and he is proud to work in the position that he does and to have done it for so long.
“I think we have done justice and we’ve made some other important reforms and I’m proud of the folks we get to work with," he said.
Freeman has accomplished a lot in his years of service, establishing the Domestic Abuse Service Center, a one-stop agency for victims of domestic abuse, and fighting to increase diversity in grand and petit juries, as well as other accomplishments.
Related
In the release, Freeman also defended his decision not to prosecute the officers who shot and killed Jamar Clark, stating he feels he made the right decision.
"I am sorry that Jamar Clark is not here with us; he should be, but what happened was not criminal," he said.
Freeman shared some of his other regrets, like not being able to prosecute the killers of numerous victims simply because he did not have any evidence.
"These kids simply didn't deserve to die, and people who are recklessly running around shooting guns ought to pay the price, and the world ought to know who those shooters were," Freeman said. "We should demand and do our very best to send them away for very long periods of time."
As for now, Freeman has continued to ask the public for help identifying those responsible.
"I'd like to charge those before I leave," he said.
Freeman closed by saying that he still plans to finish out his term and do the best job possible.
When it comes to what’s next, Freeman answered simply, “I don’t know and that's okay with me.”