Minneapolis opens new review of police officer "coaching"
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
Minneapolis will launch an internal inquiry into the police department's practice of "coaching" officers in response to allegations of misconduct.
Why it matters: Police reform advocates and the U.S. Department of Justice say the practice is an example of lax standards the Minneapolis Police Department set for its officers in cases that should have required more serious discipline.
Catch up quick: Coaching is an appropriate corrective response when an officer commits a low-level violation, but many of the cases investigators reviewed involved "egregious misconduct," the DOJ's report said.
- Two cases referred for coaching, not discipline, involved "excessive force" against a teen accused of shoplifting, and the arrest of a young girl over a missing $5 bill.
- Reporting by the Minnesota Reformer and Star Tribune turned up similar findings.
Driving the news: Last week, Minneapolis' Audit Committee asked the city auditor to begin an immediate review of MPD's use of coaching over the past year to gauge whether it put the city at legal or financial risk.
Context: "It's clear that coaching has been used inappropriately in the past," MPD Chief Brian O'Hara told reporters last month.
Yes, but: O'Hara said he has reviewed all 62 cases of coaching since he became chief in September 2022 and found them "appropriate," though he did not elaborate.
Zoom in: City council president Elliott Payne, who wrote the resolution requesting the review, pointed to the case of John Pope to illustrate the financial risk of loose officer discipline.
- Pope received a $7.5 million settlement after then-Officer Derek Chauvin struck him with a flashlight and kneeled on him for 15 minutes — months before Chauvin killed George Floyd.
- The case wasn't even flagged for coaching: at the time, an MPD supervisor concluded Chauvin's force against Pope was within policy.
What they're saying: "We could have avoided so much harm to our city had we had better processes in place," Payne told Axios.
The fine print: He added that the city auditor's preliminary assessment is meant to determine whether a more in-depth audit is necessary.
Zoom out: O'Hara noted that the independent monitor overseeing court-ordered reforms to MPD will review the department's handling of misconduct and use of coaching.
- "Full compliance will be accounted for within the consent decree itself," Mayor Jacob Frey said at a July news conference.
Payne counters that the reform process could take a decade or more. "I don't want to wait 10, 20 years."
- He also said the city needs to establish officer accountability mechanisms that will outlive the court's oversight.