A lawsuit alleging that Minneapolis’ response to pressure from the ”defund the police” movement has left sections of the city without adequate law enforcement may lead to the filing of other similar cases around the country, according to a lawyer behind the Minnesota state court action.

The events that have led to the Minneapolis lawsuit, which in November survived a city-lodged dismissal filing, are involved, but not too unique, according to Douglas Seaton, a lead lawyer for a group of Minneapolis residents asking a judge to force the city to get more “peace officers” onto the streets and out from behind desks in order to help bring calm and safety to their neighborhood and across the city.