"I know the passive racism that goes on": Neighborhoods respond to DOJ report on MPD
MINNEAPOLIS -- By accident or by design, Friday's announcement and report from federal investigators came just a few days before Juneteenth, the federal holiday celebrating the emancipation of slaves after the Civil War.
"That's all we can do is celebrate and be grateful for the days we have. Tomorrow is not promised, so all we can do is be here today," said Asia Greer.
Greer knows that more than most. A survivor of gun violence, Greer coming with her family to a Juneteenth celebration at Shiloh Temple. Amidst all the fun, though, there were mixed feelings about the new report about Minneapolis and MPD.
"Am I surprised about it? No. Because we live in America, I grew up in Minnesota. I know the passive racism that goes on," Greer said. "Imagine being the only Black kid in your class, as a second- or third-grader when you can barely articulate the words to defend yourself in situations like that. ... Police just reinforce the fact that, when it's not nipped in the bud at the beginning, because that's not where it starts is police. That's at the end. That's where it gets worse."
Mena Gordon, who attended the party with her granddaughters, echoed not being shocked, but she also called the report welcoming.
"That they even come to investigate what's going on and see how they can make things better," Gordon said.
Current events are not lost on the kids either. Bella Fitzpatrick, 10, says everything can be summed up in one simple concept
"Stop disliking someone just because of the way they look. You can't judge a book by its cover. If you don't know them, you need to get to know them," Fitzpatrick said.
One of the speakers at the party was public safety commissioner Dr. Cedric Alexander. He didn't say much in his public remarks, but, like MPD Chief Brian O'Hara, he's pretty new to the scene here, only on his job for 10 months. WCCO asked Alexander about his biggest takeaway and he wanted to make clear that the work has already begun to make reforms, even as the AG spoke in the present tense that some of those bad behaviors were going on right now.
"I can only speak to my experience and, in my experience, the several hundred officers we have left are going out there doing a good job. We have half the police department, we had after the riots, so we're doing training in the present and having these conversations. The training is becoming more intense over time," Alexander said.
WCCO pressed the commissioner for more specifics on that training, on changes with behavioral health, but the commissioner did not really elaborate beyond the generalities.
