ACLU Pushes For Arradondo To Make Specific Changes To MPD
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Better training, increased accountability and a new body camera policy – those are some of the changes the interim police chief in Minneapolis is being encouraged to make by the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.
On Monday, the nonprofit called on interim police chief Medaria Arradondo make nine changes to the embattled police department, which saw its former chief resign last week amid the controversy surrounding the Justine Damond shooting.
According to a news release, the ACLU is calling for Arradondo to:
-- Increase oversight and accountability for officers who violate the department's use of force policies.
-- Support reforms to ensure the Police Conduct Oversight Commission has the authority to discipline and fire officers as needed.
-- Retrain the entire department on use of force.
-- Increase training on de-escalation.
-- Implement a new body camera policy that mandates activation at the beginning of every interaction with members of the public.
-- Include clear, significant discipline for officers who violate the body camera policy.
-- Stop prioritizing low-level arrests.
-- Increase the department's accountability by releasing all data on stops and arrests to the public.
-- Fully implement the recommendations found in the Police Executive Research Forum's 30 guiding principles on the use of force and the final report of President Obama's task force on 21st century policing.
The Minneapolis Police Department has long struggled with use of fore violations, the ACLU says, adding that while former police chief Janee Harteau made progress on certain issues, much more work needs to be done.
Harteau resigned Friday at the request of Mayor Betsy Hodges, who has also faced criticism following the Damond shooting.
Damond, a yoga instructor and Australian native, was fatally shot on July 15 by Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor after calling 911 over concerns of a possible rape in the alley behind her south Minneapolis home.
Noor shot Damond from the passenger seat of a squad car, investigators say. A single bullet hit Damond in the stomach. She was not carrying a weapon.
While Damond and his partner, Matthew Harrity, were wearing body cameras, neither were turned on when the shooting occurred. Squad car cameras also didn't capture what happened.
Damond, who moved to Minnesota for a relationship, was set to be married in August.