Dear Neighbors,
“Sometimes you say you rationalize in your own mind, ‘Well this is terrible, but we’ll learn from it.’ How many times do we have to learn the same lesson? We went through it in New York. We had the Garner case in New York. How many times do you have to learn the same lesson?”
— New York Governor Andrew Cuomo
For me, the lessons go back much farther. During the summer of 1965 I was a junior high school student about to enter the eighth grade at King Junior High School in Oakland, California when the botched traffic stop of a young black man in Los Angeles became the catalyst for the “Watts Rebellion”. The television images of the resulting eruption of violence are still seared in my memory. Reading the Wikipedia account of that event, last night, I couldn’t help but be struck by the similarities between that uprising (and its root causes) and protests inspired by the murder of George Floyd last week. It is amazing how little has changed in the intervening half-century – it’s amazing how little we’ve learned. I would encourage you to follow this link and read the historical account for yourself, picking out as many “then versus now” parallels as you can. The institutionalized segregation which still exists, the poor relations between the police and the community, the delays in calling out the National Guard and the attacks on firefighters to prevent the quelling of the flames are just a few. One notable difference: 34 people died in the Watts Rebellion while, so far, there has been only one death in the Twin Cities, at the hands of a business owner trying to protect his place of business.
In the aftermath, the Watts business community was destroyed for a generation, to the detriment of the entire community. My House colleagues representing the most affected areas of Minneapolis (Hodan Hassan, Aisha Gomez and Jim Davnie), saw that their own neighborhoods had been turned into food deserts overnight. They put out a plea for food assistance, leading to one of the more heartwarming stories of the week: the food drive at Sanford Middle School in Minneapolis. I know that many of us contributed groceries to that effort and are looking for additional ways to support the rebuilding of the devastated Lake Street business community. You can follow this link to contribute money to a charity organized for that purpose: We Love Lake Street. Here is another list of organizations that are doing good work for communities of color.
The legislature will have a special session beginning on June 12th (if not sooner) to address Covid-19 issues. However, the House also plans to take up legislation being developed by House Criminal Justice Committee chair Carlos Mariani and others to address the need for reforms to our community policing statutes, as well as the recommendations of a commission chaired by Atty. Gen. Keith Ellison and Department of Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington which was tasked with identifying ways to reduce the number of officer-involved shootings. The People of Color and Indigenous (POCI) Caucus has proposed a slew of policies that will go a long way towards reforming our criminal justice system, including:
Reform the investigation and prosecution of officer-involved deaths and wrongful actions
- Move primary investigation and prosecution of officer-involved deaths to the Attorney General’s Office
- Modify use-of-force laws to prevent wrongful deaths
- Create a new crime for unjustified use of force that results in death or great bodily harm
- Strengthen independence of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) and design an alternative independent body to their jurisdiction
- Conduct a review of Medical Examiners to ensure independence and timely action
- Change civil liability statute of limitations for families of individuals killed by police
Increase police accountability and transparency
- Collect and centralize for public access, real-time data on deadly-force encounters
- Establish law enforcement-citizen oversight councils to provide needed community involvement in policing
- Establish a Critical Incident Review process for officer-involved deaths to inform policy change and prevention
Raise standards of conduct and support officer excellence
- Change the laws governing agreements that impede discipline of officers seriously betraying the public trust
- Reform the Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Board to increase oversight of officer licensure and training
- Expand the POST Licensing Board with more public membership and racial diversity
- Create a legal duty for officers to intervene in the wrongful use of force by fellow officers.
- Create a POST Board Community Policing Rulemaking Council
- Expand training in de-escalation, mental health crisis intervention, and responding to people with disabilities
- Prohibit use of “Bullet-Proof Warrior” style use of force training
- Offer peer-to-peer counseling for peace officers and establish privacy-protections for officers in counseling
Partner officers with the communities they serve
- Create powerful incentives for officers to live in the communities they serve by lifting the state ban on local-residence requirements
- Provide new resources to increase diversity in police forces
Repair and build community trust and create community-centered public safety
- Provide state funding for programs for community-based intervenors and problem-solvers that can partner with local peace officers.
- Increase investment in community-based mental health and trauma-informed services
- Direct POST board to develop model policy on use of force in responding to peaceful protests
For my part, I intend to redouble my efforts to develop and pass comprehensive housing affordability legislation which will, among other things, address the exclusionary zoning practices of some Twin Cities suburban communities.
Minnesota Department of Human Rights Files Civil Rights Charge Against Minneapolis Police Department
The Minnesota Department of Human Rights will begin an investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) after filing a civil rights charge related to the death of George Floyd. This investigation into policies, procedures, and practices over the past 10 years will determine if the MPD has engaged in systemic discriminatory practices towards people of color and ensure any such practices are stopped. Department of Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero will lead the investigation.
Minnesota has one of the strongest civil rights laws in the country. It is illegal for a police department to discriminate against someone because of their race. This important action against an entire police department will allow the Department of Human Rights to take swift action in response to any determination of civil rights violations.
Keep in Touch
Now more than ever, please contact me anytime with questions, input, or ideas. Don’t hesitate to reach out if I can provide any assistance. This situation is evolving constantly and I will be sure to update you with any changes. Please follow me on my Facebook page for further updates and invite your friends and family to do so as well.
Thanks for the honor of representing you at the Capitol.
Sincerely,
Steve Elkins
Representative, District 49B
Minnesota House of Representatives
515 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
St. Paul, MN 55155
(651) 296-7803