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Crime, Law and Justice
Cari Spencer

First known U.S. Karen police officer promoted to sergeant

A family stands together
Ler Htoo poses for a photo with his family.
Cari Spencer | MPR News

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The first known Karen police officer in the United States was promoted to sergeant for the St. Paul Police Department Wednesday. Ler Htoo is the department’s first Sergeant of Karen descent.

The Karen are an ethnic group from Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. Minnesota has one of the largest concentrations of Karen refugees, who fled violent persecution from the military dictatorship in Myanmar.

That includes Htoo. He spent the first three years of his life in Myanmar, then another 15 years in refugee camps in Thailand. At age 18, he moved to St. Paul with his family and has lived there since 2009.

As both St. Paul’s first Karen officer and a leader at the Karen Organization of Minnesota, Htoo said he’s motivated to be a leader for younger members of the Karen community.

“It’s more from my family, my kids and younger generations. They have someone that they can look up to,” he said. “And I hope that the younger generations that come in, they can learn a thing or two from me, or I can be a role model for them. And if they need my help, they can always come and seek help from me.”

The St. Paul Police Department now has five other Karen officers, Htoo says. And for Eh Tah Khu, the co-executive director of the Karen Organization of Minnesota, that’s made a difference, he says.

“With law enforcement action taken against minority ethnic groups [in Myanmar], there’s a lot of mistrust. Coming into the United States, people still carry that mentality that if they see police officers, they’re kind of nervous or scared of them,” he said. “But having the community members working in the law enforcement field, and knowing them individually, it does help. And especially if they are well known in the community, it’s created a lot of trust.”

He added that the representation has also helped break language barriers.