Fewer complaints against Minneapolis police, but some bring gripes elsewhere

The Minneapolis Police Department’s (MPD) Internal Affairs Unit logged fewer complaints last year than it did in 2006, despite more 911 calls, arrests and "use of force" by officers, according to a report it released Thursday [pdf].

Complaints have dwindled in part because of changed policies, the addition of more police officers and the introduction of enhanced crime-fighting technologies (such as cameras, the Shot Spotter system, Tasers and Global Positioning Systems), according to the report. But critics say many people simply skip Internal Affairs and wage their complaints against the department through other means.

For example, Michelle Gross, a representative from the Minneapolis-based Communities United Against Police Brutality, said the group steers people away from Internal Affairs. One alternative is the MPD’s Civilian Review Authority, a citizen oversight body (though the activist organization suggests that the panel be strengthened). Communities United Against Police Brutality claims there are "multiple cases in which individuals are retaliated against simply for complaining to Internal Affairs," according to an audit the group has prepared for the years spanning from 1996 to mid-2007.

At a June 16 public hearing hosted by the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), a Washington, D.C.-based group that is separately reviewing the unit, a number of attendees expressed frustration with Internal Affairs, which they said tended to be unresponsive to their issues. One man gave an impassioned speech about his experience and then stormed out of the room. ("I give up," he said, adding, "What I’m hearing is that I don’t have a chance.") The PERF evaluation is due out later this summer. At the end of the meeting, Bill Tegeler, a PERF representative, assured the crowd of about 40, "I hear you loud and clear."

But the MPD’s Internal Affairs report counters those assertions. It points to improved oversight that translates into "decreases in lawsuit payments, line-of-duty injuries and compensation, and injuries to arrestees while the department continues to see an increase in 911 calls for service," the 35-page report reads. Meanwhile, it has increased workforce diversity and done a better job of retaining employees, among other things, it states.

Here are some of the report’s highlights:

In 2007, Internal Affairs handled 222 complaints that pointed fingers at 335 employees. (The MPD employed 857 officers and 214 civilian staffers in 2007.) The figure represents a 10-percent drop in complaints from 2006. It has been going down since 2004 when the unit was revamped.

A fair number of the complaints were generated by incidents in the downtown and north side precincts. Overall, 12 cases turned into full-fledged internal affairs investigations and one advanced to a "force review," meaning that it may signal policy revision. (Complaints go through a vetting process that starts with a preliminary investigation to determine whether it should move forward.)

The most common focus of the complaints was officers’ "use of force," which includes the use of chemical spray, Tasers, batons, vehicle, firearm, K-9 bite, "improvised impact" weapon and bodily force. Any "use of force" is automatically reviewed. There were 1,234 incidences involving some type of force last year, up from 872 in 2006 (or about 2.2 "use of force" incidents for every 200 arrests), which is due to new reporting categories, the report states. Of those, 63 force incidents led to internal affairs complaints.

Police-involved shootings are tabulated separately: There were eight officer-involved shootings of a suspect, compared with seven in 2006. None of the shootings last year were fatal. There were several fatal shootings the previous year. (Three shootings were fatal in 2006 and two in 2005.)

Internal Affairs sustained 19 complaints in 2007 compared with 23 in 2006. However, 23 cases are still awaiting further action.

Photo:Tony Webster