Let’s learn from the past while being realistic about current challenges.
A Pivotal Moment
January 6, 2025 – In a unanimous vote, the Minneapolis City Council approved the U.S. Department of Justice Consent Decree. This agreement serves as a political platform for statements about justice and reform.
“For our community to feel justice, they need to see those provisions in the real world and on the street. It’s going to take a state of constant vigilance to ensure we’re always following through on our commitments.”
– Council President Elliot Payne
“This is a pivotal moment for our city. The consent decree provides a clear roadmap for the future of policing in Minneapolis, one that we will be held accountable to follow. It maps out the path ahead, and now it’s up to us to take the steps to achieve meaningful reform. This requires unwavering commitment and action.”
– Emily Koski newsletter
New Leadership and Efforts at Reform
Residents want a different police force from what existed five years ago. While progress has been made, it’s rarely acknowledged. Minneapolis now has a new Police Chief, a new Director of Community Safety, and a new President of the Police Officers Federation, Sherral Schmidt, who replaced Bob Kroll. Since March 31, 2023, the state’s Department of Human Rights has been overseeing the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD). Additionally, hundreds of police officers have left the force over the past few years. Reform is far from complete. Revamping the culture fully will take years—and adding more layers of oversight is unlikely to speed up that process.
Abuse of power is a persistent issue. It occurs in the military, corporate boardrooms, and state legislatures. Racism exists worldwide and within every group of people. Minneapolis and its police force are no exception. Rules and accountability are crucial to curbing abuse and mitigating its effects, which can last for generations—or, in the case of death, forever.
The Role of Federal Oversight
No one wants to work under the threat of “constant vigilance.” If you’ve ever been audited, you know how cumbersome and draining the process can be. In many professions, entire teams are tasked with responding to audits—often juggling multiple ones simultaneously. The work is tedious and can make you want to quit your job. Over time, your role shifts from doing what you were hired to do to simply responding to the audit. Directives from outside your department or company often come from individuals who don’t understand the daily pressures you encounter.
Challenges of Accountability and Oversight
Reform and change are indeed needed within the MPD. But the societal issues surrounding them—the environment in which they operate—remain the same. Consider this headline: “Hennepin Co. Sheriff: 100K fentanyl pills, 250+ guns seized this year by task force.” Guns and drugs are persistent problems in our community, and reforming the MPD won’t change that fact.
The Persistent Issues Facing the City
Unlike many U.S. cities, Minneapolis experienced more homicides in 2024 than in 2023. Residents might reasonably worry that additional reporting and oversight could discourage officers from engaging in proactive policing, fearing administrative or legal repercussions. When deterrents are removed, criminal activity can increase. (Of course, crime is influenced by other factors too, such as poverty, unstable homes, and lack of economic opportunity.)
Yes, we want a reformed police force, and the progress made so far must continue. But we also want a city where residents can walk two blocks—from the CVS to the hardware store—without the fear of being assaulted.
The Dangers of Crime in the Community
When businesses go dark, it leads to even more crime because there are fewer people around to deter it. Council Members Katie Cashman and Jamal Osman suggest that transforming the area into a Cultural Corridor with public art projects is the solution. However, the building’s owner and former tenants disagree. For them, the core issue was the lack of consistent police presence. According to the building’s owner, Bryan Walters, “Nothing was ever done on that block, and we couldn’t get the police [to be] a constant enough presence to take care of it.”
Divergent Realities Between the City Council and Residents
The Need for a Balanced Approach to Reform
Let’s learn from the past while staying realistic about the current challenges.
Reprinted with permission of Better Minneapolis
Terry, I really admire your ever positive take on police, neighborhoods, and crime in Minneapolis. I’m not as positive as you. I see the death and aftermath of George Floyd the standard bearer for all things happening in our City. That, and the COVID epidemic, of course. Specifically, the doubling down on the Consent Decree is the only course available to anyone who’s paying attention. You and others point to the retirement and disability vis a’ vis PTSD on behalf of our MPD officers; but you don’t spend much time on the why and how. This MPD is scared to death to be accountable for the deaths of unarmed citizens, mostly black and brown. But unless the MPD is forced to be accountable, nothing will change. The culture and its approval of racism and combat mentality and tactics will remain. Thank goodness we have a new Federation president, but even she has an uphill battle to convince her colleagues that the times are a’changing and they themselves must change along with it. I also wrangle with the residency requirements: MPDs are allowed to live outside the Minneapolis city limits and come to work for 8 hours, and this fosters an arms-length approach to policing, racism, and culture change. I hope the Council can reverse this rule and bring city residents into the fold of the MPD. We are diverse. We are multi-racial. We are in need of a full complement of MPDs, and we need a new generation of men and women to step up to the tough job ahead.