MINNEAPOLIS, MN – A growing list of racial justice groups and nonprofit organizations that includes the ACLU of Minnesota, Racial Justice Network, Minneapolis NAACP, Reclaim the Block, CUAPB and the Center for Victims of Torture urges the Minneapolis City Council to delay its vote on the police contract so members and community groups have time to dig into the contract, especially at a time when the police contract deserves more scrutiny, not less. The city should seek out public comment about the contract, not rush it through.
We are troubled by the lack of any changes around discipline in this contract. We have repeatedly seen MPD attempts at discipline get overturned by arbitrators based on the department’s own history of not disciplining its officers or failing to discipline them strongly enough, creating a department frozen in time without any meaningful way to implement a stricter discipline process. This must change, and the city shouldn’t sign off on a contract until it contains a mechanism to escape the cycle of being tied to past disciplinary practices.
We question why the city is focused on paying officers more (a $7,000 bonus plus raises), rather than putting money into public safety for all. We already know traditional policing doesn’t keep everyone safe, and putting more money into that system – rather than expanding public safety by increasing funding for mental health, housing and other services – is not the answer.
We also are concerned by a new provision that requires MPD to automatically notify officers every time someone requests their personnel data, and the name of that person, if known. The law already gives officers the ability to ask for and receive that information. Adding a requirement for real-time notification could serve to chill public data requests, and make victims feel too intimidated to request information about the officer that victimized them. There is a terrible irony in MPD creating a process to notify officers any time someone requests information about them, but being unwilling to publicly release officer disciplinary records currently hidden under the term “coaching.”
We ask the city to hold a public hearing, delay the vote, and provide a concrete process for council members and the public to provide recommendations on improving the contract. If no changes are made to the police contract, then we urge Minneapolis City Council members to Vote No. This contract proposal is simply unacceptable, and Minneapolis residents deserve better.
SIGNATORIES:
American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota
Black Lives Matter Minnesota
Black Lives Matter Twin Cities
Black Visions
CAIR Minnesota
Center for Victims of Torture
CUAPB (Communites United Against Police Brutality)
Families Supporting Families Against Police Violence
ISAIAH
Jewish Community Action
Legal Rights Center
Minneapolis NAACP
Mpls For a Better Police Contract
Minnesota Youth Collective
Racial Justice Network
Reclaim the Block
Restore the Fourth MN
Safety Not Surveillance
SWOP Mpls
TakeAction MN
Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar
Twin Cities DSA
Voices for Racial Justice