Pete Stauber has tweeted support for Bob Kroll, who swore to ‘fight for jobs’ of officers who killed George Floyd
SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA — Representative Pete Stauber, who House Republicans just tapped to lead their police reform efforts, has a history of supporting Bob Kroll, the head of the Minneapolis Police Union, whose career is full of racist, inflammatory, and outright violent behavior.
In late 2019, Stauber tweeted a photo of himself and Kroll and declared that he’s “proud to stand by” the police union head, whose controversial career has included:
- Pledging to fight for the jobs of the officers who killed George Floyd and attacking Floyd’s character
- Calling Black Lives Matter a “terrorist organization”
- Challenging a Minneapolis resident to a fight on social media and calling him a “cowardly cunt”
- Calling Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison a “terrorist”
- Calling the police on a Washington Post reporter because Kroll “doesn’t want any press”
- A lengthy history of excessive force complaints, including
- Beating a man whose backpack bumped Kroll’s car
- “Beating, choking, and kicking” a biracial 15-year-old boy while hurling slurs at him
- Fighting to continue holding “killology” trainings that encourage officers to use lethal force
Ken Martin, Chairman of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, issued the following statement:
“If House Republicans were remotely serious about police reform, they wouldn’t have put an ally of Bob Kroll in charge of it. It is disgraceful that Representative Stauber would stand by a man like Kroll, whose career has been defined by senseless violence, overt racism, and a defense of the aspects of policing most in need of reform.
“If Representative Stauber thinks Bob Kroll’s violent and racist career is worthy of support, I have no hope whatsoever for any reform package that Stauber and House Republicans will be putting forward.”