Monitor for Minneapolis police outlines next steps for reform
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Two government investigations found the Minneapolis Police Department engaged in a pattern of heavy-handed and discriminatory policing. Photo: Kyle Stokes/Axios
The Minneapolis Police Department's independent monitor has published its first to-do list for MPD as it begins instituting a set of sweeping, court-ordered reforms.
Why it matters: The plan outlines tangible changes that the evaluators expect to see in each of the next four years as MPD works to reverse longstanding patterns of racially biased, heavy-handed policing.
The intrigue: In their 87-page implementation plan, evaluators from the nonprofit organization Effective Law Enforcement for All (ELEFA) wrote that they don't expect MPD to be perfect, but that "A" level work (95%) is a "reasonable" expectation.
- "Full and effective" compliance will require "continual improvement," not just meeting numerical benchmarks, they added.
What they're saying: "The path will be long, challenging, and fluid, but one to which the city is committed," Toddrick Barnette, the city's Community Safety Commissioner, said in a statement.
- Department and city officials say they've already hired staff, improved technology and changed policies in anticipation of the monitor's oversight — and that they've already made progress on some to-do items.
Here's a sampling of what the monitor will be watching in the first year:
📏 Discipline guidelines: The plan calls for MPD to review and update these rules every year. The discipline matrix should ensure that officers face consistent consequences when found to have done wrong.
- Context: In 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice found MPD failed to punish officers in proportion to their misconduct. Often supervisors would refer them for "coaching" instead of serious discipline.
- Chief Brian O'Hara has said more recent uses of coaching have been appropriate, but public distrust about the practice persists.
⚖️ Misconduct cases: Evaluators expect MPD to make "substantial progress" on a "backlog" of unresolved complaints against officers.
📹 Body cameras: For the first time in years, MPD said it now has the staff to audit whether officers are turning off or muting their body-worn or in-car cameras. The evaluators will begin reviewing those audits early next year.
📚 Retraining plan: MPD must submit a master plan to get its officers up to speed on the department's many new policies, the evaluators say.
- That will be a challenge in a short-staffed department, because officers will have to come off patrol to attend training sessions.
🛠️ Better working conditions at police stations: Among the potential improvements MPD could make "immediately, at minimal cost" are installing "wellness" or lactation rooms at stations, and buying new break room furniture and mattresses for cot rooms.
Go deeper: Read the full implementation plan