Minneapolis City Council approves new system of civilian police oversight
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The Minneapolis City Council approved a revamp of the city’s system for civilian oversight of the police department in a special meeting Tuesday afternoon by a vote of 7-4.
The 15-member Community Commission on Police Oversight will be made up of 13 members appointed by the council, with one member appointed by each council member. The mayor will be able to appoint two members. The ordinance originally would have given the council eight appointments and the mayor seven appointments.
The commission combines police oversight efforts at the city into one organization, which staff argued would eliminate confusion and increase transparency.
Its role will be to recommend changes in police practices, collective bargaining agreements and training. Members will also have a role in recommending discipline in individual cases of police misconduct. The commission will meet at least eight times a year.
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Council President Andrea Jenkins said amendments proposed by her colleagues made the proposal better, and said it’s likely the council will need to review the ordinance and make further amendments in the future.
“Is it perfect? No. Can it be improved? Absolutely, as with everything in life,” Jenkins said. “It is our duty to make that happen.”
On a rotating basis, the commissioners will serve on five-member review panels that will recommend decisions on discipline to the police department after complaints are made. In most cases, the chief of police must either request more investigation of the incident or make a decision on the panel’s recommendation within 30 days.
Two of the review panel members will be Minneapolis officers assigned by the chief. Three panelists will be city residents drawn from the 15 members of the Community Commission on Police Oversight.
An effort to remove the officers from the review panels failed 5-6. Council Member Aisha Chughtai said her motion was about asserting “independence” from internal affairs investigations.
Council Member Jason Chavez said he believes the review panels should be civilian led and not include officers until the department is reformed.
“There’s a reason why there’s barely discipline within our police department as of today: police investigating police, friends investigating friends, can lead to a flawed process,” Chavez said.
Council Vice President Linea Palmisano said excluding police from the review panel would make it difficult to build trust with the police department. Council Member Michael Rainville also opposed the amendment, and said “to fix the problem you have to have everybody at the table.”
The proposal, which had been delayed by the council, includes an amendment that would prohibit retaliation against city residents, employees or police officers who file complaints or provide information in complaint investigations against officers. Other amendments include a role for the commission in yearly reviews of the police chief and the sharing of complaint information with all 15 members of the commission.
Council Member Andrew Johnson said he didn’t remember a time in his nine years on the council when so many amendments were attached to an ordinance that passed the same day. An effort by Council Member Jeremiah Ellison to delay the final decision to allow public input on the amended proposal failed.
The commission is a replacement for the Office of Police Conduct Review and the Police Conduct Oversight Commission which were created in 2012. Some activists opposed the new system, arguing that it didn’t enact any real changes to civilian oversight of police, and that the city needed to prepare for expected consent decrees with the state or federal governments.