Police calls surge near new St. Paul encampment

Police calls near one of St. Paul's homeless encampments spiked 1200% last month. Many of those calls made by tenants of a luxury apartment complex concerned about their safety. As Fox 9's Emily Pofall explains, the city's plans to clear encampments is having some unintended consequences. We got the data showing a surge in police activity here to Shepherd and Randolph in the last month. Officers responding to things like fights and thefts but also doing proactive police work too, like installing police cameras like this one here by the train tracks. The calls for service tell the story. Between January and July, the area, including the nearby Waterford Bay Apartments, averaged 11 police calls per month. Then, in August, the city cleared Pig's Eye Park, another homeless camp, of around 200 people. Officials estimate 90 to 100 people from Pig's Eye moved here to Randolph. And since then, police calls at Randolph have spiked to 145. That's more than a 1200% increase. We would have wanted more individuals to be in shelter space. So we do not believe that that was a success. And the calls aren't just more common, they're also more complicated. St. Paul Fire, in a statement to Fox 9, says Randolph presents some unique access and operational challenges because of the location, terrain, secured gates, and conditions within the site. SPFD also says fire and EMS use special PPE when entering the camp. The tents and makeshift homes straddle train tracks. First responders Wednesday used a four-wheeler to answer a med call. The city has said it plans to clear this encampment too, but they haven't answered repeated questions about when that could happen. City admin, the police department, and the council president all denied or didn't respond to interview requests for this story. Reporting in St. Paul, Emily Pofall, Fox 9. Several teen boys were taken into custody after a stolen vehicle pursuit in Minneapolis. It all happened yesterday morning around 2 a.m. after several reports of people breaking car windows on Minnehaha Avenue. When officers responded, they say they saw a stolen vehicle driving recklessly in the area and initiated a pursuit. This eventually led to the suspect vehicle crashing into a Hennepin County Sheriff's squad car. An 18-year-old was taken into custody along with three teen boys. Police say several items, including a firearm, were found inside that vehicle.