Hennepin County Connect and Protect

The City of Brooklyn Center is a first‐ring suburb of the Twin Cities metropolitan area with an area of
approximately 8 square miles. It is partially bordered on three sides by the City of Brooklyn Park.
Because of Brooklyn Center’s location to Brooklyn Park, the target population of the project will remain
unchanged. Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center have over 60% of residents identifying with communities
of color. Black, Indigenous, or other People of Color (BIPOC) and disparities are prevalent across local
systems. The Brooklyn Center Police Department responded to 741 mental health related calls in 2021
and 802 in 2022. In Brooklyn Center in August 2019 Kobe Dimock‐Heisler a young man in a mental
health crisis was shot and killed by responding officers and in April 2021 Daunte Wright a young black
man was killed by police officers during a traffic stop. These law enforcement‐involved shootings
sparked community outrage which led to a policy workgroup that created the Daunte Wright & Kobe
Dimock‐Heisler Community Safety & Violence Prevention Act. Part of this Act called on the city of
Brooklyn Center to create an alternative response to individuals with mental health needs and/or
disabilities that do not involve an armed law enforcement response to behavioral health crises.

The Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center police departments often support each other and work in
conjunction to serving their residents. Brooklyn Center is listed as a Criminal Justice Partner for the
current project in the Implementation Guide. The partners and collaborators will remain unchanged.

Implementation of the ART teams in the combined areas of Brooklyn Center and Brooklyn Park
concurrently as previously scheduled after the planning phase.

The purpose, goals, and budget of the program will not be affected. Expansion increases service delivery and positive outcomes for residents of Hennepin County.