Duluth settles suit with couple that alleges racism by police department

The Duluth City Council has agreed to pay $135,000 to a couple to settle allegations of racism by police.

Aaron Kirk, who’s Black, and his wife Amy, who’s white, say that starting in 2007, two neighbors called police dozens of times and made false complaints about everything from meth cooking to child abuse and that police failed to investigate the neighbors.

In a March ruling, U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz rejected most of the claims because they predate the six-year statute of limitations.

But Schiltz did allow the couple to sue over a 2020 incident in which police arrested Kirk and jailed him for four days.

Kirk said an officer claimed falsely that Kirk had fled police after a road rage incident in which Kirk was the victim of another driver who used a racial slur and threatened to beat him with brass knuckles.

“The Kirks believe that was a good resolution overall,” said their attorney Phillip Fishman during a phone interview with MPR News on Tuesday. “The count against the officer was based on a constitutional violation, where a member of the community was treated differently than a white person by a person acting under color of law.”

A spokesperson says the city of Duluth is not commenting on the settlement.

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