Minneapolis police union votes to approve historic pay raise
MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis leaders are hoping more money will help rebuild the ranks of a depleted police force.
The police union voted to approve a new contract with the city, which includes a nearly 22% pay raise over three years.
The contract still needs to be approved by the city council.
"Being a police officer is hard," said Mayor Jacob Frey. "In Minneapolis, we're going to make sure that that pay is competitive and at, or near, the top of pay rates in the entire region."
Police Chief Brian O'Hara says the raises would help with badly needed recruiting.
"Our staffing is so incredibly low, 40% below what had been normal here," he said.
O'Hara says it's even more important to pass the contract after the tragic shooting of officer Jamal Mitchell last week.
"We need more people like Jamal," O'Hara said. "If we're going to get more people like Jamal, if we're going to have any chance of that at all, we need to compensate them and get this contract ratified."
The chief confirmed Mitchell was working overtime and patrolling alone before the shooting, but he adamantly denied that played a part in what happened
"It's very frustrating to me that people have put that ridiculous notion out there," O'Hara said. "They don't know what they're talking about. If there was another officer with Jamal, we might've had twice the tragedy."
Frey says the contract also gives the chief more decision-making power in areas like staffing and reforms.
"There's nothing more critical than that," Frey said. "That allows him to run a police department, make necessary changes and hold people accountable at the same time."
O'Hara says the contract is not the place for reforms; it gives him the ability to act more quickly.
"It is my job to reform the Minneapolis Police Department," he said. "The mayor, the council and the residents can hold me accountable for that."
Sgt. Sherral Schmidt, the president of the union, said in a statement:
"We are thankful of reaching a tentative agreement with the city that was ratified by the membership. We now wait for council approval, and hope that council will see value in this contract for hiring and retaining officers, especially given the clear and present reality that this is a dangerous profession."
