Lawmakers hear pleas to transform policing

Minnesota lawmakers considering wide-ranging legislation to change police training and procedures in the state, in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd, heard hours of public testimony Saturday.

It was the second day of a special session, with members of the House Public Safety and Criminal Justice Reform Finance and Policy Division and speakers meeting via videoconference.

The DFL-controlled House is proposing changes that include a ban on chokeholds and warrior-style training for police, and that would define when officers can use deadly force.

Among other proposals, the bills being considered would also require police officers to intervene and report when they witness excessive force; would allow Minneapolis and St. Paul to have residency requirements for officers; would change arbitration procedures; and would offer more training on mental health and working with people with autism.

Committee chairperson Rep. Carlos Mariani, DFL-St. Paul, said lawmakers have a duty to act, in the wake of massive protests that followed Floyd's death at the hands of Minneapolis police on May 25.

"Thousands of Minnesotans who protested came together, united across race, class, gender and geography, to assert the common Minnesota value of affirming life and human decency," Mariani said at the start of the seven-hour hearing. "So here we are today, to respond to the call of our fellow citizens, and to do so by affirming that George Floyd's life mattered."

Among the speakers Saturday was Valerie Castile — mother of Philando Castile, who was fatally shot by a police officer in Falcon Heights in 2016.

Valerie Castile said she supports the legislation being considered, but said she is frustrated by the lack of action after previous police shootings.

"I mean, come on now — I've been talking for close to four years now. And we've come up with some very very doable information, beautiful blueprints" for changing policing, she said. "But nobody wants to implement it and we're just spinning our wheels."

Saturday's speakers also included Amity Dimock — mother of 21-year-old Kobe Heisler, who was fatally shot by Brooklyn Center police last year.

Dimock told lawmakers that Heisler was a "gentle giant," and a caring son, brother and grandson. She said he was on the autism spectrum and was "just having a bad day" and was threatening to harm himself when relatives called police.

Dimock said family members were able to calm down her son and had requested that police turn back — but officers did go to the home and, she said, the situation escalated. The encounter ended with her son fatally shot.

"I would suggest that police not even be called in mental health crisis situations," she said. "I think it should be health care professionals (first) — and then and only then should police be called in. My son would be alive if they just would've let it be."

Dr. Joi Lewis works with communities to heal from oppression and trauma, and said she supports the legislation — but she lamented the long wait for police reforms, and that action only seems to happen after more people have died.

"It's not a good business model. That's not a good time to be thinking about, 'Should we be reimagining?'" she told lawmakers. "There's enough people who have died. We already have the information."

Saturday's hearing did not include committee votes on the DFL-backed measures; those are set to take place on Monday.

The Republican-controlled Senate has proposed a more limited set of proposals on policing.

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