A Democratic Party leader thanked the Minneapolis police and pushed to prosecute youths "running wild" after she was carjacked Tuesday, despite previous support for dismantling the department.
Shivanthi Sathanandan, the 2nd Vice Chairwoman for the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, posted on Facebook Wednesday that she was "violently carjacked" by "four very young men, all carrying guns." She said they assaulted her in front her children outside their home in broad daylight. She also included a photo of her head injuries and reported having a "broken leg, deep lacerations on my head, bruising and cuts" around her body as well as feeling "rage" against the lack of accountability against criminals.
"These men knew what they were doing. I have NO DOUBT they have done this before. Yet they are still on OUR STREETS. Killing mothers. Giving babies psychological trauma that a lifetime of therapy cannot erase. With no hesitation and no remorse," Sathanandan wrote.
She continued, "I'm now part of the statistics. I wasn't silent when I fought these men to save my life and my babies, and I won't be silent now. We need to get illegal guns off of our streets, catch these young people who are running wild creating chaos across our city and HOLD THEM IN CUSTODY AND PROSECUTE THEM. PERIOD."
Though she thanked police officers for their response, at the height of the George Floyd riots in June 2020,Sathanandan wrote Facebook posts supporting efforts to "dismantle" the police.
"We are going to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department. Say it with me. DISMANTLE. The. Minneapolis. Police. Department," she wrote, "As allies, what can we do right now? LISTEN and LEARN from our Black siblings. And then AMPLIFY this message right now, in this moment. MPD has systematically failed the Black Community, they have failed ALL OF US. It's time to build a new infrastructure that works for ALL communities. If you are still disagreeing with that BASIC FACT, I'm not sure what to say to you."
Shivanthi Sathanandan, the 2nd Vice Chairwoman for the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, posted on Facebook Wednesday that she was "violently carjacked" by "four very young men, all carrying guns." She said they assaulted her in front her children outside their home in broad daylight. She also included a photo of her head injuries and reported having a "broken leg, deep lacerations on my head, bruising and cuts" around her body as well as feeling "rage" against the lack of accountability against criminals.
"These men knew what they were doing. I have NO DOUBT they have done this before. Yet they are still on OUR STREETS. Killing mothers. Giving babies psychological trauma that a lifetime of therapy cannot erase. With no hesitation and no remorse," Sathanandan wrote.
She continued, "I'm now part of the statistics. I wasn't silent when I fought these men to save my life and my babies, and I won't be silent now. We need to get illegal guns off of our streets, catch these young people who are running wild creating chaos across our city and HOLD THEM IN CUSTODY AND PROSECUTE THEM. PERIOD."
Though she thanked police officers for their response, at the height of the George Floyd riots in June 2020,Sathanandan wrote Facebook posts supporting efforts to "dismantle" the police.
"We are going to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department. Say it with me. DISMANTLE. The. Minneapolis. Police. Department," she wrote, "As allies, what can we do right now? LISTEN and LEARN from our Black siblings. And then AMPLIFY this message right now, in this moment. MPD has systematically failed the Black Community, they have failed ALL OF US. It's time to build a new infrastructure that works for ALL communities. If you are still disagreeing with that BASIC FACT, I'm not sure what to say to you."
