SARAH MCCAMMON, HOST:
The official in charge of handling emergencies in Minneapolis is comparing her city to a war zone.
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RACHEL SAYRE: My background is an international humanitarian response in conflict zones in Yemen, Haiti, Syria, Iraq and Ukraine. What I've seen here is what I've seen there.
MCCAMMON: That's Minneapolis Emergency Management Director Rachel Sayre speaking this afternoon after a federal agent shot and killed a man this morning. After the shooting, hundreds of protesters clashed with law enforcement. Director Sayre joins us now. Welcome to the program.
SAYRE: Thank you for having me.
MCCAMMON: What is the feeling in Minneapolis this evening?
SAYRE: Yeah. Well, I can say what I'm feeling, which is angry, very sorrowful and just really focused on how we can come together as a community and help each other get through this incredibly difficult moment.
MCCAMMON: What is it that makes you say that what you're seeing in Minneapolis looks like what you've seen in war zones outside the U.S.?
SAYRE: Let me clarify that I think what people imagine when I say conflict zones is, you know, bombs falling and all of this kind of thing. But - that can be true. More often, what conflict zones look like is daily life that is very difficult, where it's hard decisions constantly, such as, am I safe to go to the grocery store? Am I safe to take my kids to school? Am I safe to go to the doctor? Maybe today I have to close because there's something happening on that corner. That is more of what it looks like on a day-to-day basis in a place that is experiencing this kind of powerful entity that is terrorizing people.
MCCAMMON: President Trump in a post on Truth Social today wrote, quote, "Where are the local police? Why weren't they allowed to protect ICE officers?" You work with emergency responders. That's your role there in Minneapolis. What is the role of local police at this moment?
SAYRE: So our police, their job is to protect our residents and keep them safe, and that's what they continue to do.
MCCAMMON: Your governor, Tim Walz, activated the Minnesota National Guard after an ICE officer shot and killed Renee Macklin Good earlier this month. How have Minneapolis police and local emergency responders been coordinating with the guard troops there?
SAYRE: So yeah, I will say what I'm focused on in my emergency management hat is actually the impact on our residents. So in the city, you know, police and law enforcement, they coordinate with the National Guard, but what we're focused on here in our emergency operations center is both supporting their efforts to keep residents safe and supporting our community for the impacts of everything that's happening.
MCCAMMON: And what does that look like for your staff?
SAYRE: Yeah, so we have 30 to 40 staff in a room right now, where we've been for the last 14-plus days. We set our objectives, which are focused solely on, how do we reach our community? How do we provide resources to help them in this difficult moment? That includes things like mental health resources, legal referrals, information about what to do if you experience tear gas or other chemical agents. But that is our role, is to really connect our residents with resources and make sure that they have those.
MCCAMMON: What have your staff, your colleagues been hearing from people in Minneapolis since this latest shooting?
SAYRE: Yeah. Well, many of us are Minneapolis residents. So, you know, really, overwhelmingly, we're coming together. This is - this city is so special in how tight-knit and welcoming our communities are across the board. It doesn't matter which community or the community as a whole, we deeply care for each other. We go out and shovel each other's sidewalks. My neighbors have been, you know, dropping off food at my door. And that's happening across the city 'cause we care for each other, and that's really what we see in these moments.
MCCAMMON: I heard you say today that you've sort of reassigned staff, that this is taking them away from their day-to-day duties, to focus on what's going on in Minneapolis. What does that mean for your ability to carry out the other services of government?
SAYRE: That is a real impact that we're experiencing right now. So my department, we're in charge of our city's severe warning sirens, and those need an update, and we haven't been able to spend the time to make that happen because we've been nonstop working on this for the last several weeks. We have ongoing recovery programs related to mass shootings from last summer that we have had to draw back on because all of our attention is at this really critical moment for our city.
MCCAMMON: You know, this feels like an increasingly precarious and volatile moment. How worried are you about the possibility of a clash not only between ICE agents and protesters or bystanders but between ICE agents and local police or the National Guard who are there?
SAYRE: Yeah. I deeply hope it doesn't come to that. The mayor consistently has said and asked for everyone to center peaceful protests and to don't take the bait. You know, that's really what we want our whole community to remember.
MCCAMMON: As you think about what happened this morning, what questions do you have?
SAYRE: Well, again, my role is to focus on the community impact. So the questions I have are, how are we going to support the neighbors who are right in the vicinity of what happened? How are we able to support the family who is affected? How are we able to support all of our community that is traumatized at this point from weeks of this terrorizing surge on our city? That's what I'm focused on. Those are the questions I have.
MCCAMMON: Rachel Sayre is the emergency management director for the city of Minneapolis. Thank you for your time.
SAYRE: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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