Law Enforcement

In Minneapolis’ southeast corner, all candidates for the city council share concerns about saving small businesses and keeping big developers in check. But beyond this agreement, the three candidates vying for the seat now held by Sandy Colvin Roy offer distinct choices for Ward 12 voters.

The White House announced Tuesday that President Obama has nominated Sharon Lubinski, Minneapolis’ Assistant Chief of Police, as the U.S. Marshal for the District of Minnesota. Lubinski is also one of the first — if not the first — openly gay person to be nominated for the position.

There are currently just two Hmong police officers assigned to Minneapolis’ 4th Precinct, both of whom work overnight shifts. North Side residents want at least one Hmong-speaking cop on the day shift to help foster better communications with the Minneapolis Police Department. But achieving that may be harder than it would seem.

Updated: Melissa Hill, a “Civil Disobedience” candidate for Minneapolis City Council, tells about her arrest in Pittsburgh Friday while trying to cover the G20 protests for Indymedia.

The Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities has released a new ad criticizing Gov. Tim Pawlenty for cuts to local government aid and spiraling property taxes. Utilizing a clip from the 2002 gubernatorial contest, it calls out the two-term Republican governor for failing to follow through on campaign promises.

Minneapolis police removed Rosemary Williams from the home she owned for nearly three decades on Friday afternoon. The 60-year-old grandmother had vowed to stay in the residence on the 3100 block of Clinton Avenue even after the home went into foreclosure and sheriff’s deputies evicted her last month. She almost immediately re-entered the property and continued to live there. In a confrontation with police, Williams was again evicted and seven protesters were arrested.

In 2005, the Ward Eight city council race was arguably the most hotly contested in Minneapolis. This year five candidates are vying for the post, including incumbent Elizabeth Glidden. Crime and the foreclosure crisis are likely to be the issues foremost on the minds of voters.

Minneapolis Police Chief Tim Dolan was briefed Wednesday on the ongoing investigation into the now defunct Metro Gang Strike Force. Apparently the news was not good. In a statement released afterwards Dolan acknowledged that seven Minneapolis cops are implicated in the probe.

Vain Mainstream just wanted to get to work. The 23-year-old Minneapolis resident was employed by Avalon Security on the opening day of the Republican National Convention last September. His assignment: to keep watch over a parking lot in downtown St. Paul and make sure that the thousands of protesters coursing through the streets of the city didn’t do any damage. Instead, he was swept up by police and detained in jail for three days. Now he’s among 27 plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit filed against police today.

A year ago the Republican National Convention opened at the Xcel Energy Center. The St. Paul Police Department pledged that protesters and Republican delegates alike would be welcome on the city’s streets. The reality was that roughly 800 people were arrested, primarily in mass sweeps. The contentious four-day gathering continues to play out in the state’s courts through both criminal cases and civil lawsuits.