New Minneapolis civil rights director sworn in
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Michelle Phillips was sworn in Tuesday as the new director of the Minneapolis Civil Rights Department, taking the role after a string of administrative turnover, and amid ongoing police reform efforts.
As head of the department, Phillips will oversee its investigations of discriminatory practices, police misconduct complaints and labor standards violations.
At her swearing-in ceremony at City Hall, Phillips said she’s excited to begin her work.
“Minneapolis is resilient and so is the Department of Civil Rights. We may not always agree, but we will move forward,” Phillips said.
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Former department director Alberder Gillespie left in February, amid a backlog of police misconduct complaints and criticism from some members of the city’s Community Commission on Police Oversight, a community group charged with researching police misconduct and making policy recommendations.
Shortly after Gillespie’s departure, two members of that commission resigned, as did the head of the Police Conduct Review Office John Jefferson.
Phillips said she’s ready to work with stakeholders across the city.
“I believe that Mayor [Jacob] Frey’s administration and the City Council have the same vision. That is also a vision I share,” Phillips said. “We may have different ways to get to that vision, but I do believe that that is a goal that we can successfully achieve.”
Phillips comes to Minneapolis from Oakland, Ca., where she served as the city’s first inspector general.
Mayor Frey praised the recent work of the Civil Rights Department and said he’s confident Phillips will lead it well.
“From the very first moment that I met Michelle Phillips, I saw someone who cared, and I saw someone who had truly deep experience in this work from Baltimore to Oakland,” Frey said.
Phillips will lead the department as it fulfills its role in carrying out the city’s court-enforceable agreement with the state mandating certain police reforms. Mayor Frey stated earlier this year that the department will be able to hold up its end of this agreement, despite the turnover in leadership.