New Minneapolis director to oversee civil rights, police reform through ‘equitable lens’

Minneapolis’ new civil rights director will play a key role in police reform — and Michelle Phillips has a history of successfully overseeing and auditing law enforcement she says she’ll draw on.

After some administrative turnover, Phillips took office on Tuesday following unanimous confirmation by the Minneapolis City Council. She’s also tasked with investigating discriminatory practices and police misconduct complaints while promoting civil rights understanding throughout the city.

Phillips is fresh from serving as the Oakland, Calif., inaugural inspector general, hired about two years ago by the police department to monitor and audit law enforcement practices and policies in pursuit of transparency and bolstering community trust. Before that, she was deputy inspector general in Baltimore.

“In Oakland, as the first inspector general, I was given a lot of latitude to help to create molds and provide internal controls, and strategic planning for the office, which really helped me to see a very clear vision when it came to needs assessments and auditing the performance of the Oakland Police Department. So as I come into this role, I’ll utilize that lens,” Phillips told MPR News on Friday.

Following the murder of George Floyd and an investigation by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, the Minneapolis Police Department is under a court-enforceable order to reverse civil rights violations. Now, it must “make transformational changes to address race-based policing,” according to the order. Advocates and some City Council members were disappointed more reform wasn’t codified in the newest police contract, which passed Thursday with an 8-4 vote.

In 2023, a U.S. Department of Justice investigation found the Minneapolis police uses “excessive force, including unjustified deadly force and unreasonable use of tasers” and “unlawfully discriminates against Black people and Native American people in its enforcement activities.”

The Office of Police Conduct Review, which reviews misconduct complaints lodged by the public, falls under Phillip’s leadership.

“Being the people’s investigators, so to speak, is going to be very, very vital as we work through these reform efforts,” she said.

Phillips plans to work collaboratively with city, state and federal partners “to ensure that those implementations are going to be sound and sustainable” to promote “equitable policing, and accountable policing … And we must make sure that all folks involved are held accountable in a fair, impartial and equitable manner.”

Minneapolis created a Community Commission on Police Oversight in 2022 of 15 members — 13 appointed by each council member and two by the mayor — with the authority to weigh in on officer discipline, contracts, police practices and training. However, the commission has since been backlogged by cases and criticized for a lack of training and transparency. Former Civil Rights Department Director Alberder Gillespie left in February, followed by two members of the CCPO and the head of the Police Conduct Review Office.

Phillips told MPR News she’s spoken with the CCPO’s interim chair and interim director and believes stabilizing its leadership is “very important.” As no stranger to volunteer boards and commissions, Phillips says fixing the ineffective communication is a priority.

“There is an opportunity to move forward and to help [the] community to understand as well as for us as city government workers [to] be able to bridge that gap and help to be very transparent with community,” she said.

Mayor Jacob Frey, who nominated Phillips, said earlier this year the Department of Civil Rights will be able to fulfill its role in the settlement agreement — which has a four-year term — to reform the police department despite the turnover. The nonprofit Effective Law Enforcement for All is working as an independent monitor to oversee the process.