Starting tonight, anyone driving on Minneapolis freeways will see more Minnesota State Patrol troopers as the agency looks to crackdown on speeding and criminal activity.
The Highway Enforcement for Aggressive Traffic effort will take place over the next 10 days as patrols begin their lookout for excessive speeding and criminal activity along Interstate 94 between downtown Minneapolis and 694. Additional officers will be out from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m.
"Some drivers are speeding for no reason, while others are fleeing police after committing a crime," Col. Matt Langer, chief of the Minnesota State Patrol, said in a press release. "These HEAT patrols will increase our presence on the freeways so we can stop speeders and catch criminals who attempt to escape."
Road patrols won't be alone in their efforts either, as helicopters will be in the air to assist with any possible attempts to flee police.
"If you don't pull over we're going to find you with our aviation assets," Langer said.
Speeding has run rampant during the pandemic, causing fatalities on the road to skyrocket, even with stay-at-home orders in place. As a result, 2020 set a record for the most highway deaths in a year and the most since 2007, The Associated Press reported.
In 2021 driving didn't get much better, and in Minneapolis, street racing became a serious issue, causing several Minnesotans to lose their lives.
The announcement of additional patrols comes after a meeting last week with Minnesota Police Chiefs and Sheriffs associations. The meeting looked at how to utilize state resources to address crime in local communities.
The area that state troopers will now be patrolling for over the next week has seen an increase in crime, and officers will also look to impact those rising rates.
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