Game of telephone: Rumor of suspension of a third MPD officer is false

Often, press conferences are held to give information about something that happened. But here’s some PR for something that didn’t happen, to counteract a sophisticated game of telephone among adults. On Wednesday, Minneapolis Police Chief Timothy Dolan announced that Sgt. Kelvin Pulphus had not been suspended, the Star Tribune reports.

Some concerned residents were under the impression that Pulphus had become the third black police officer to be relieved from duty since Friday, in conjunction with an undisclosed federal investigation. Apparently, Pulphus had been interviewed by the FBI, but is otherwise still on duty.

Two other black officers, Lt. Lee Edwards and Officer Mike Roberts, were put on paid administrative leave on Friday. Last summer, Edwards was demoted from inspector of the 4th Precinct to rank officer in the Problem Properties unit downtown, reportedly. He and four other black officers are also in the middle of a lawsuit alleging racial discrimination on the job. On Monday, Edwards was eliminated from the pool for Northfield police chief. Reasons for suspending him are still ambiguous. Officer Roberts allegedly accepted $200 for leaking information to an undercover informant.