Minneapolis’ FAST unit says targeted nonfatal-shooting investigations are improving clearances; council presses for more detectives

Lieutenant Andrew Schroeder and Commander Zimmerman briefed the committee July 22 on the FAST nonfatal-shooting task force, created in March to investigate every nonfatal shooting with homicide-level scrutiny. Schroeder said the unit was formed because previous practice assigned shootings to homicide detectives sporadically, taking away resources from true homicides.

Schroeder provided year-to-date figures (as of June 25) of 66 incidents and 91 victims handled by FAST in 2026 and said July has been unusually busy, with 32 nonfatal shooting victims since July 1 and three homicide victims during that period. He said the FAST model places investigators next to the homicide division for mentorship and faster, more thorough follow-up and attributed early increases in clearance activity to that structure.

Council members praised the program but focused on staffing and sustainability. Council member Wansley highlighted drawing jurisdictional partners—BCA, Ramsey County, Metro Transit, and summer officers from Bloomington—and asked whether the MPD leadership changes affected the team. Schroeder said the main barrier to scaling FAST is a regional staffing crisis: Minneapolis provides seven dedicated investigators while the program’s design calls for up to 16 detectives based on national case-load guidance; the remainder have been contributed by partner agencies often without direct city reimbursement.

Council member Vitale and others probed how the seven-officer contribution was determined and whether moving officers into FAST removes prevention capacity from precincts, particularly the 3rd and 4th Precincts that have high shooting counts. MPD staff said only two of the seven were taken from 9‑1‑1 response teams; the rest came from CERT or other units that were able to backfill, but acknowledged that taking detectives from precincts can reduce preventative presence until hires or backfills arrive.

Members also raised the connection between investigative capacity and prosecution. Lieutenant Schroeder said FAST works daily with Hennepin County charging attorneys and cited an improved, though not complete, clearance picture compared with prior years. Several council members urged the administration to pursue budget, bargaining and hiring changes to create more internal investigative capacity and reduce reliance on unpaid interagency contributions.

The committee received the update and asked MPD and OCS to return with more granular staffing, budget and performance data in future reports.