Tag: Minneapolis Police Department

DOJ announces sweeping probe into Minneapolis policing practices

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Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday announced that the Justice Department will open a sweeping investigation into whether the Minneapolis Police Department has a “pattern or practice” of discriminatory policing practices.

Why it matters: The federal probe, which will also examine MPD’s handling of misconduct allegations against officers, could result in significant changes to policing in Minneapolis in the wake of George Floyd’s murder.

  • The announcement comes a day after a jury convicted former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd’s killing, setting off celebrations across the country. Continue reading.

In Minneapolis, Looking for Police Recruits Who Can Resist Warrior Culture

New York Times logoThere is a significant difference between the community policing taught in the Minneapolis Police Academy and the ethos of some veteran officers.

MINNEAPOLIS — Even as the Minneapolis Police Department reels in the aftermath of its officers’ involvement in the killing of George Floyd, the department has been recruiting a new crop of trainees who will face the same challenge of every rookie: navigating the dramatic difference between what is preached at the academy and what is practiced on the street.

In the Minneapolis Police Academy, cadets are trained to be mindful of their own biases, to treat the public with respect and to use force only when necessary. But then they enter station houses and squad cars with veteran officers who may view policing differently — as an us-versus-them profession with a potential threat on every street corner.

Since Mr. Floyd’s death, the process of turning civilians into effective officers on the Minneapolis force has taken on added urgency, and raised questions in the mind of one senior officer of how to tell who might be capable of abusive policing, such as pressing a knee into a suspect’s neck, as former Officer Derek Chauvin did on the evening of May 25 as three of his colleagues, two of them rookies, looked on. Continue reading.

In first efforts at reform, city of Minneapolis to withdraw from negotiations with police union

Police Chief Medaria Arradondo revealed the first of a series of department reforms.

The city of Minneapolis is withdrawing from labor negotiations with the powerful police union, the latest step by officials to restore faith in the beleaguered department as demands for law enforcement accountability and reform sweep the country in the wake of George Floyd’s death.

Police Chief Medaria Arradondo revealed the move before talks were scheduled to resume after a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s among the first steps he pledged to take to restore community trust, along with renewing an initiative to identify potentially problem officers in time to intervene.

“I need to, as chief, step away from the table with the Minneapolis Police Federation and really take a deep dive in terms of how we can do something that has historically been something that is in the way of progress, that I’ve been hearing from many in our city,” Arradondo said. “It’s time that we have to evolve.” Continue reading.

Minnesota Human Rights Department launches probe into Minneapolis police

The investigation will look at Minneapolis police policies and procedures over the past 10 years to determine if police engaged in discriminatory practices.

The Minnesota Department of Human Rights will launch an investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department after filing a civil rights charge related to the death of George Floyd, who died while being pinned to the street by police last week.

The probe, announced Tuesday by Gov. Tim Walz, will look at Minneapolis police policies and procedures over the past 10 years to determine whether the department has engaged in discriminatory practices toward people of color

“This is not about holding people personally criminally liable,” said Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero, who will lead the investigation. “This is about systems change.” Continue reading.