Maple Grove Neighborhood Raises Concerns About Rental Home
Maple Grove police have planned a neighborhood meeting for a cluster of homes near Fish Lake meant to address concerns about law enforcement activity at a rental home.
“That’s been a rental house for most of the time that we’ve lived here and we’ve never had any trouble,” said Caroline, a nearly 40-year resident who declined to reveal her last name for safety reasons.
She said the quiet neighborhood near Dallas Lane and Berkshire Way was recently disrupted by a police chase that spilled into a neighbor’s lawn.
“These two men in question were being followed by Minneapolis police, and they pulled in to the driveway at this house,” Caroline said. “Police surrounded – I mean they jumped out of their vehicle. Police surrounded the one guy, tackled him right in the street over here.”
Minneapolis police did not comment on the incident before this story was published. But according to Caroline, they found something concerning at the scene.
“Then we found out afterword that there were two guns involved with auto sears,” she said. “It also had a laser sight on it, so these guys meant business.”
An auto sear is an illegal modification that can turn a semiautomatic firearm into one that fires fully automatic.
Caroline said the incident was unnerving, but not the first at the rental home.
“When you realize the gravity of the situation, we could have been mushrooms, you know?” she said. “We could have been shot, where we stood, and I don’t want that kind of neighborhood.”
Maple Grove police have planned a neighborhood meeting for a cluster of homes near Fish Lake to address concerns about law enforcement activity at a rental home.
10 Police Calls at Rental Property This Year
The Maple Grove Police Department has responded to 10 calls-for-service at the rental property this year, according to a police spokesperson.
Two of those calls were domestic and three were medical. One was for a police investigation, while another was in support of another agency’s investigation.
Caroline recently approached the city’s elected officials for help.
Saying the neighborhood is at a “tipping point,” she requested that the city revoke the rental license for the property during a city council meeting.
“I know the staff is looking into this, I know that we’ve — we’re trying to address the issues and I expect that there will be something forthcoming,” said Mayor Mark Steffenson.
Maple Grove city employees declined to comment on the case, saying all complaint data are private.
However, the neighborhood meeting is now scheduled for Dec. 9.
Caroline’s worried it could be too little, too late. One of her neighbors has already listed their home for sale — and she’s not sure if she wants to stay.
“So we’ve put off doing some updating, some remodeling in our house, because we don’t know what the future brings here,” she said.
