Elsewhere in Minnesota headlines this morning …

ST. PAUL: A man, a plan, a root canal … Pawlenty! Guv asks his 49 peers to join a “health compact.” [ECM Publishers]

MINNEAPOLIS: Mayor loves police chief like a brother. But, er, not like that brother. [Star Tribune; WCCO-TV]

ST. PAUL: Don’t jump off a bridge. You might fall, says the nanny state. [Star Tribune]

OAKDALE: Or the bridge might fall. And some suburb will get to keep the best pieces. [KARE-TV]

SOUTH HAVEN: Get a broom. Unlike bridges, they never fall. [St. Cloud Times]

DULUTH: DWI in chair-car crash. It’s getting so you can’t have eight or nine beers and drive your La-Z-Boy around anymore. [Duluth News-Tribune]

Clockwise from top left: Barbara Johnson, Marcus Harcus, Grant Cermak, Troy Parker

A member of the Rainville family has held Minneapolis’ Ward Four city council seat since the mid-1970s. First elected in 1975, Alice Rainville represented the area for more than two decades, in 1980 becoming the first woman to serve as city council president.

Barb Johnson then took over her mother’s post in 1997. Four years ago she was the only incumbent on the Minneapolis City Council not to attract a single challenger, winning re-election with 92 percent of the vote. This year, however, Johnson faces three challengers for the seat. Her opponents believe it’s time for the Rainville reign in North Minneapolis to end.

“The Fourth Ward has been represented by one family for 40 years, longer than I’ve been alive,” says Marcus Harcus, who is running as a Green Party candidate. “I respect that they’ve stood up and served the community for all these years, but the North Side needs new leadership, new faces, new ideas.”

Troy Parker is also disturbed by the political dynasty established in North Minneapolis. He initially ran (unsuccessfully) against Johnson when she first sought the seat in 1997.

“Her mom was retiring and she was the heir apparent,” Parker recalls. “I just didn’t think that was a democratic way of doing things.”

The scuttlebutt around City Hall is that Johnson is more than a little concerned about the electoral competition. But the city council president insists that a vigorous campaign is welcome.

“It really was a fluke that there was no opposition last time,” she says. “I view competition as a good thing. It makes you sharpen your message and get your information out there.”

Ward Four stretches across the northwest corner of Minneapolis and includes the neighborhoods of Shingle Creek, Folwell and Cleveland. The area encompasses blocks that are blighted by crime and abandoned houses, along with bucolic stretches that could be confused with surrounding suburbs. At the time of the 2000 census, a majority of the residents were non-white.

Grant Cermak, the third candidate challenging the incumbent, is running with the backing of both the Republican and Independence parties. Last year he took on state Rep. Joe Mullery for a seat at the Capitol, but fell well short, with 18 percent of the vote. The software engineer and small-business owner was inspired, in part, to get involved in electoral politics by the presidential campaign of Ron Paul and espouses a libertarian philosophy of municipal governance. He cites Minneapolis’ prohibition of pit bulls and restrictions on idling cars as two areas where the city has overstepped its proper authority.

“I’m very fiscally conservative,” he says. “Other than that, I kind of have a laissez-faire philosophy in terms of trying to legislate morality.”

Cermak also has concerns about civil rights abuses by police officers. He believes that the cops have been repeatedly allowed to overstep their authority without repercussions.

“I think Chief [Tim] Dolan has to go,” he says. “They haven’t been operating in a way that’s been beneficial to the community.”

Harcus is also partially motivated by police behavior. The 31-year-old says he’s been pulled over 52 times by the cops over the years, the overwhelming majority of times for no conceivable reason. In one instance, Harcus says, he was dragged to the ground and beaten with a night stick. His crime: running to catch a bus.

“My experience with police abuse compels me to pay attention to city politics,” he says.

Among the changes Harcus would like to see: subpoena power for the city’s Civilian Police Review Authority, which is charged with investigating citizen complaints against the police department. Harcus argues that Johnson is too closely aligned with the Minneapolis Police Federation and the department brass to make needed changes to police oversight.

“She’s totally biased in favor of the police,” he says. “She believes they can do no wrong.”

Johnson denies this assertion, but believes that criticism of the police is largely misguided. She notes that violent crime is down dramatically and argues that cops who misbehave are being held accountable.

“The police chief has to be vested with the authority to be strong in his discipline of officers who misbehave — and I think that’s in place,” she says. “Our chief has fired more police officers than any other chief. That doesn’t make him the federation’s poster boy.”

It’s not the first time Harcus has sought elected office. He ran for mayor in each of the last two election cycles, but garnered less than one percent of the vote in each contest. However, he insists that this election will be different.

“This time around I’m in it to win it,” he says. “The previous two times I was just running to make some noise.”

The proof of his intent: Harcus has been door-knocking in the ward since April. He estimates that he’s surveyed 800 residents about their beliefs and concerns.

Parker sought the DFL endorsement, but lost out to Johnson. He touts economic development on the North Side as a chief concern. In particular he wants to see more business growth on main corridors such as West Broadway and Lyndale avenues. Parker argues that Ward Four hasn’t gotten its fair share of tax dollars in recent years.

“The development dollars just haven’t been dispersed equally throughout the city of Minneapolis,” says Parker, who works as a pipefitter. “We can’t just lie down and allow people to take advantage of our community and our residents.”

He also believes that Johnson has failed to vigorously advocate for residents of the ward. “They just feel as though they have no representation whatsoever,” he says. “You have to give a voice to everyone in the community.”

Johnson rejects criticism that she’s out of touch with the ward and not a strong voice for her constituents at City Hall. “My roots are in that community,” she says. “I’ve lived there my whole life. I have connections all across the community, which none of the other candidates can even get near.”

This is the eleventh in a 13-part series on Minneapolis City Council races.

The full series:

Ward One: Five seek open seat in northeast Minneapolis
Ward Two: Gordon, Aigbogun and … no DFLer
Ward Three: Hofstede tries to hold off four challengers
Ward Four: Trio of challengers take on political dynasty
Ward Five: Crime and economic development dominate North Side race
Ward Six: South Minneapolis contest draws crowded field of contenders
Ward Seven: Despite full campaign coffers, lawsuit clouds Goodman’s prospects
Ward Eight: Glidden faces four rivals in south Minneapolis
Ward Nine: Schiff, Bicking vie again
Ward Ten: Four candidates vie for Uptown council seat
Ward Eleven: Three vie for Benson’s South Minneapolis seat
Ward Twelve: Colvin Roy faces three challengers
Ward Thirteen: The independent ward could see fireworks in November

Elizabeth Glidden and Greg McDonald, two of five candidates vying for the Ward Eight council seat

In 2005, the Ward Eight city council race was arguably the most hotly contested in Minneapolis. The primary featured 10 candidates — more than any other ward in the city. The principal reason for this electoral scrum: there was no incumbent candidate. A controversial redistricting plan had lumped council member Robert Lilligren into Ward Six with fellow incumbent Dean Zimmerman.

In the end, Marie Hauser and Elizabeth Glidden emerged from the crowded field to advance to the general election. Glidden, a civil rights attorney, then won the seat handily with 59 percent of the vote.

This year’s Ward Eight contest is slightly less crowded, but there are still five candidates running for the post. Glidden is seeking a second term, while challengers Gregory McDonald, David Regan, Jeanine Estime and Michael Cavlan are looking to oust her from the council.

There will be no primary election this time around, however, because Minneapolis is using instant-runoff voting for the first time, in which voters will rank their preferred choice of candidates. The change seems to have spurred many to take a shot at electoral politics. There are currently 53 candidates across the city running for the 13 city council posts.

“I think this gives more people an opportunity to have a say in the election,” says Glidden. “We know that you have dismal turnout at the primary. That’s where you’d often see this big lineup of candidates.”

Ward Eight is among the city’s most diverse, both economically and ethnically. It stretches from Lake to 50th streets and from Cedar to Lyndale avenues. At the time of the 2000 census, more than half of the residents were minorities. The median household income in the Central neighborhood was just over $32,000, while in Kingfield that figure was nearly $52,000.

In the ’80s and ’90s some parts of the ward, most notably Central, were notorious for gang violence and crime. But many residents believe that over the last decade the area has made significant strides in restoring calm to the streets. This success, however, has left some grumbling that Ward Eight doesn’t get its fair share of resources from City Hall.

“The relative peace we have over here compared to the north side is a very, very hard fought battle that’s being waged every day,” says Steve Washington, a juvenile probation officer and 15-year resident of the Central neighborhood.

“We’re quiet over here for a reason. It’s because we work at it. Yet we lose funding. The city pumps money into the dysfunction of the north side.”

Ward Eight certainly continues to have its share of problems. The area is among the hardest hit in the city by the foreclosure crisis. Through July of this year, 156 homes had gone into foreclosure. That’s the third highest total in the city, ranking behind only the wards on the city’s beleaguered north side. The plight of homeowners trying to stay in their residences has been highlighted in recent months by Ward Eight resident Rosemary Williams, who has refused to leave her home of nearly three decades even after being ordered to vacate the premises by Hennepin County Sheriff’s deputies.

Glidden says the resulting abandoned properties littered throughout the ward are adversely affecting the quality of life for the remaining residents. She’s working to secure funds to help revitalize distressed properties and get them occupied once again.

“These are huge crime magnets,” she says. “They push down property values. They push down the livability of the neighborhood.”

Crime remains the most significant issue for many Ward Eight residents. McDonald says its the primary reason he’s running for city council as an Independence Party candidate. “My 12-year-old son won’t walk to the store by himself,” he says.

McDonald wants the city to beef up inspections and target neglectful property owners. “They aren’t penalizing negligent landlords enough,” he says. “The police, every officer I speak with, their hands are tied.”

He argues that Glidden, a Kingfield resident, is out of touch with the concerns of poor residents in the area. “She lives in an upper middle-class Minneapolis neighborhood,” he says. “She comes from a completely different background from the majority of the people in Ward Eight.”

Cavlan has a different perspective: He believes cops are a large part of the problem. The registered nurse says he was motivated to run for city council in part by the heavy-handed security tactics during last year’s Republican National Convention and civil rights abuses by Minneapolis police officers. He wants a beefed-up civilian-review board to oversee the conduct of cops and believes that chief Tim Dolan should be fired.

“Chief Dolan has set a tone with the Minneapolis police where there is no accountability,” he says “There are sections of Minneapolis where the people are either afraid of the police or getting very angry with the police. We’re headed towards a confrontation in this city if we don’t get these people under control.”

Cavlan is a former Green Party activist, but grew frustrated with the party’s inability to present a credible alternative to the Democrats and Republicans. He’s now running as an Open Progressive and will be the first candidate representing the fledgling party to appear on the ballot. Despite this lack of electoral history, Cavlan believes that Minneapolis’ new ranked-voting system gives him an opportunity to win.

“I really do believe that instant-runoff voting is going to change everything,” he says. “Those of us who have these views and opinions are no longer marginalized.”

The motivations of other candidates on the ballot are tougher to surmise.

Regan registered to run as a Republican, but ascertaining much more information about him is difficult. The phone number filed with the city’s elections office is disconnected and he doesn’t appear to have a Web site.

Jeanine Estime is running as a Green Party candidate. The Haitian-born Powderhorn Park resident has lived in Minneapolis for more than 15 years. She works as an education assistant at her daughter’s school and has volunteered with the Powderhorn Youth Farm and Tubman Family Alliance. Estime’s web site describes her as “strong, visible, progressive.”

(Estime didn’t respond to two calls seeking comment.)

Glidden says criticism that she is out of touch with the ward’s poorer residents or unwilling to take action on thorny issues is unfounded.

“I have been a very hands-on person in working with neighborhoods and block clubs on crime and safety issues,” she says. “I have not just been someone who works on the big-picture policies.”

Washington, who previously chaired the Central neighborhood’s Weed & Seed anti-crime initiative, backs up Glidden. He notes that when a tornado recently ripped through part of Ward Eight, the city council member was immediately out on the streets assessing the needs of her constituents.

“Elizabeth gets on the ground and she makes relationships with people and she gets the job done,” Washington says. “Until Glidden does something extremely strange she’s earned the job.”

This is the first in a 13-part series on Minneapolis City Council races.

The full series:

Ward One: Five seek open seat in northeast Minneapolis
Ward Two: Gordon, Aigbogun and … no DFLer
Ward Three: Hofstede tries to hold off four challengers
Ward Four: Trio of challengers take on political dynasty
Ward Five: Crime and economic development dominate North Side race
Ward Six: South Minneapolis contest draws crowded field of contenders
Ward Seven: Despite full campaign coffers, lawsuit clouds Goodman’s prospects
Ward Eight: Glidden faces four rivals in south Minneapolis
Ward Nine: Schiff, Bicking vie again
Ward Ten: Four candidates vie for Uptown council seat
Ward Eleven: Three vie for Benson’s South Minneapolis seat
Ward Twelve: Colvin Roy faces three challengers
Ward Thirteen: The independent ward could see fireworks in November

“The Minneapolis Police Department is extremely disappointed at the scope and serious nature of the allegations regarding some Minneapolis officers assigned to the task force,” he said. “Our ability to police requires the communities’ trust, and these allegations fundamentally undermine the faith and trust that we work so hard to earn.”

The gang unit’s current troubles began in June when the state auditor’s office released a report stating that 14 vehicles and roughly $18,000 in cash that had been seized by officers could not be located. That was followed by a blistering report on the gang agency’s activities by former federal prosecutor Andy Luger and former Federal Bureau of Investigation agent John Egelhof. Last week state legislators held a special hearing at the Capitol to scrutinize the alleged wrongdoing. The FBI has been brought in to determine if any crimes were committed by gang investigators.

Dolan was briefed today by Luger and Michael Campion, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. There has been a string of new developments involving MPD officers in recent days. On Thursday Sgt. Randall Olson, a former supervisor in the gang unit and a ten-year veteran of the department, resigned. He had been on paid leave since mid-August. Then on Monday Sgt. Kelly O’Rourke filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the city of Minneapolis, claiming that he was retaliated against after raising concerns about activities at the gang unit.

The St. Paul Police Department has acknowledged that six of its officers assigned to the gang strike force are under investigation, according to the Associated Press. A single deputy from the Ramsey County Sheriff’s office is also being scrutinized for possibly mishandling evidence.

Jenkins was eventually taken to North Memorial Medical Center and required seven stitches above his eye. He then spent four days in jail.

In a statement released this morning, Dolan defended the actions of Walker, but expressed concern about the conduct of other cops at the scene. “Some of the actions of responding officers, specifically the kicking of the suspect, give me concern,” Dolan said in the statement. “Because of this, I am asking for an outside review by the FBI.”

The incident, which the Star Tribune reported on Saturday, was captured on video. Jenkins was initially charged with fourth-degree assault and refusing to comply with a chemical test, but both charges were subsequently dropped.

(MPR.org)

Damning details relating to the 2006 shooting of Fong Lee by a Minneapolis police officer came to light last week. The capstone was David Hanners’ terrific Sunday piece profiling Lee, officer Jason Anderson and the handgun at the center of the controversy. The upshot from the coverage: evidence suggesting Lee was unarmed and that the gun purportedly recovered at the scene may have been planted by police.

The allegations have some activists calling  for a federal investigation of the shooting and demanding that  MPD Chief Tim Dolan resign. The city’s top cop was apparently on vacation last week and unavailable for comment. Today the department released a statement from Dolan:

We take all allegations of police misconduct very seriously. We want our community to be able to trust that its officers will protect with courage and serve with compassion.

That’s why we want to be absolutely clear: no officer ever planted evidence in this case and we look forward to proving that in court.

While no officer wants to take another life, two internal department investigations, as well as an independent grand jury, have ruled that the death of Fong Lee was a case of justifiable homicide.

Unfortunately, because of the ongoing civil litigation, we can’t comment specifically on the facts in this case. But we are confident that when this case concludes, the actions of our officers will be vindicated.

A lawsuit filed by Lee’s family is slated to go to trial on May 1 at U.S. District Court.

“Politics is not an exact science,” said the German and Prussian statesman Otto von Bismarck on more than one occasion (sometimes adding, “It is the art of the possible”). But another masterful politician whose name ends with the letter K might beg to differ — with the “not exact” part, anyway.

Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, who announced his candidacy for re-election yesterday, told me this about his relationship with the Obama administration last week (and these were his exact words): “This is working out exactly as I would want it.” Something similar he said yesterday about his job satisfaction ended up in a Southwest Journal headline: “I live exactly where I want to be, and I don’t want to go anywhere. … I am exactly where I need to be right now.”

A Lexis search reveals that, more than Mr. Minneapolis or Mr. Mayor, Rybak is actually Mr. Exact. See Rybak’s litany of exactitude after the jump.

“From what I’ve seen from [Los Angeles] Mayor [Antonio] Villaraigosa, he’s doing exactly what he’s supposed to be doing.” (Nov. 18, 2008)

“During this time of economic uncertainty, Crown Center [in Northeast Minneapolis] is exactly the kind of revitalization we need.” (Oct. 22, 2008)

“In the coming days, we will learn more about exactly what happened yesterday” about protests and policing during the first day of the Republican National Convention. (Sept. 2, 2008)

“When the bridge fell, I was shocked, but I knew exactly what to do, because we’d done all that planning.” (Sept. 1, 2008)

Vice Presidential candidate Joe Biden is “exactly what we needed at exactly the right time.” (Aug. 23, 2008)

New Minneapolis fire chief Alex Jackson is “exactly the kind of leader we need to keep our strong fire department moving forward in the right direction.” (June 9, 2008)

“His energy and passion for this issue are exactly what we need to keep this extremely important initiative moving forward.” (About Bass Zanjani, who Rybak appointed as Youth Violence Prevention Coordinator, April 14, 2008)

“I’m extremely sorry to see Johan [Santana] go. But I believe this is exactly what this incredible franchise needs to do to sign the players who are key to our future, like [Joe] Mauer and [Justin] Morneau and [Michael] Cuddyer, and build the pitching staff that has tremendous promise.” (Jan. 30, 2008)

“Having this [Juvenile Supervision] Center will help us better connect with young people heading in the wrong direction to get them back on track with exactly the right kind of support and opportunities they need to succeed.” (Jan. 18, 2008)

“We are sending that exact message today by removing Bonnie Bleskachek as Fire Chief.” (Dec. 22, 2006)

“Tim Dolan knows this community, he has the confidence of our police and he is an innovative leader who knows exactly what we need right now to make our city safe.” (Sept. 11, 2006)

“We are putting significantly more money into public safety and that is exactly what we need to do right now.” (Aug. 15, 2006)

“The new Juvenile [Crime] Unit is doing exactly what it was created to do: focus on troubled youth.” (July 20, 2006)

“Let’s be clear: our chance of success here is lower, but that’s exactly why we need to be here [in north Minneapolis].” (April 18, 2006)

“Making this happen takes work, which is exactly why we added three new city planners to engage citizens in areas like Downtown and Uptown.” (Feb. 28, 2006)

“STEP UP is doing exactly what I had hoped when I launched it in 2004 and I am very thankful for the business leaders who have helped provide jobs for our kids.” (June 24, 2005)

“Let me stop you before you finish, because I had the exact same idea.” (Said in agreement with former Police Chief Bill McManus as he explained that he was going to give Rybak a ticket for leaving his Prius running unattended, Feb. 24, 2004)

A minority of the Minneapolis City Council decided Wednesday against requesting answers from Chief Tim Dolan on police actions during the Republican National Convention (RNC). And by killing a proposed staff directive in committee, four members of the council’s Public Safety and Regulatory Services Committee made sure that the seven council members not on the committee won’t have a say on the issue.

Two backers of a more expansive inquiry — Gordon (Green Party) and Schiff (DFL) — presented what they termed as reasonable additions to the scope of the police department after-action report that Mayor R.T. Rybak outlined last week. (See the five proposed points of inquiry which appear as italicized additions to the mayor’s list.) But the day found the duo falling into now-familiar Don Quijote/Sancho Panza roles as they continue struggle in vain for elevated police accountability — first by casting lone votes against putting city cops under other jurisdictions’ control last fall, then by calling for an independent, blue-ribbon review of RNC law enforcement two weeks ago.

Council Members Paul Ostrow and Diane Hofstede and Council President Barbara Johnson — joined in the end by Committee Chair Don Samuels — quickly framed the proposal as an unwarranted call for investigating police work mounted by elected officials who were overstepping their authority.

Johnson said the MPD’s internal review of an event she called “unprecedented in our history” should follow the department’s “standard operating procedure.” She ridiculed Gordon’s arguments in favor of gathering additional information as a piece with “hype” about an armed-camp environment that she termed “ridiculous.” (Although her dismissive stance was undercut by Samuels’ description of an atmosphere downtown in which “anything could happen at any time.”

Samuels pronounced his own pre-judgement of the police after-action report by proposing “success report” as an appropriate title. What no one would call the police review was an “investigation” — a term that Ostrow said “presumes that things were done that were improper.”

If, in the committee debate, “investigation” became a bad enough buzzword that it set Johnson (in her words) “a-twitter,” there was another word so outre that no one would say it: “lawsuit.”

Ostrow had Dolan repeat the news that no formal complaints had yet been filed, although Dolan, in the course of his wide-ranging remarks, said that he and others had set in motion internal reviews into at least two incidents — one being the repeated macing of a young protester caught on a widely viewed news video.

But any satisfaction about the absence of complaints filed at City Hall will only last until the day (which is yet to arrive) on which papers are served there in lawsuits that protesters have promised to file over alleged police abuses during the more than 800 RNC-related arrests.

The debate followed an earlier tussle in which Schiff and Gordon bristled at a staff recommendation that Minneapolis sign a Memorandum of Understanding allowing city cops to serve under the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C. during the presidential inauguration in January. Minneapolis sent 40 officers to the inauguration for the first time four years ago, MPD Inspector Rob Allen told the committee, and this year is one of 50 departments to get an invite.

But the timing for the request was unfortunate, Schiff said, coming as the city’s review of MPD actions under outside command during the RNC is just getting underway. Citing the deal’s fine print, Schiff disputed MPD Inspector Rob Allen’s assurances that federal agents wouldn’t direct Minneapolis officers, and that problems getting reimbursed for pension costs from overtime hours couldn’t arise. But the committee nixed any delay or alterations to the plan, on a 4-2 vote reprised soon after on the RNC report issue.

Here are seven minutes of audio highlights excerpted from the hour-long committee debate on the police report on the RNC — mostly from its emotional ending. A transcription follows below.

COUNCIL MEMBER PAUL OSTROW: … I personally don’t see a need for council action. I’m just going to be really blunt about this, because I know what the headlines are going to be. The headline is going to be: “City council calls for investigation of Minneapolis Police Department.” We don’t need an investigation of the Minneapolis Police Department when the Minneapolis Police Department itself is already saying that it’s moving forward on an after-action report. … The police department worked incredibly hard — our city worked incredibly hard — to get this right, and I think they’re just as committed to a good and solid review of this after the fact as they were to good, solid planning before that. So that’s why I’m voting ‘no’ today.

COUNCIL PRESIDENT BARBARA JOHNSON: I must support Council Member Ostrow and not vote for this. I completely agree with what you’re saying, that this is a typical action that our police department would take, to analyze an event that we’ve had of this size. The other thing — what sort of gets me in a twitter about this is some of the language that gets used. “Investigation” was used another time here, after we talked about that being a kind of buzzword here. It was just used again. The fact that the concerns come out about who is in control of the federal government, what political party is in control of the federal government. … This federal government is not run by the Republicans. It’s run by the people of this country. And that language is what sets me in a mood to say, I think the best process that we should go through is letting our professional staff evaluate what went on in this community as a result of a major convention that was unprecedented in our history … I had a call from someone — I think it was the Thursday before the convention started — and he was a radio reporter from New York City. And he said, “I hear that your city’s being turned into an armed camp.” And I said, “What? What are you talking about?” There was such hype about this. It was just ridiculous. So I would like to get down to some rationality and some professionalism about what went on here, and I think our police department has that capacity to do that, and they are doing that as part of their standard operating procedure. …

COUNCIL MEMBER CAM GORDON: I guess I’m disappointed, because I realize that without four people supporting this it won’t go forward. And we’re certainly already going to be getting some information, but we’re not going to be getting all the information that I think would be useful to me, and I would suspect to the other council members, and I would suspect to the city … I don’t think we should be afraid of information. I don’t think we should be afraid of knowledge. I don’t think we should be afraid of asking questions. In fact, I think it’s seeking knowledge and seeking truth and asking questions that’s going to get us to the best policies in the end. And so I don’t know why you’re trying to shut the door on asking questions about some of these incidents that went on. In fact, I would think you’d have more questions, you’d want to get more information … So I guess I’ll keep asking the questions and trying to seek those answers, and I’d appreciate that if council members would help me do that and try to do that in our capacity as a council but it doesn’t feel like there’s the support for it here.

COUNCIL MEMBER DIANE HOFSTEDE: I am not going to support the motion for the reasons, certainly, given. But I also want to say that I was in the downtown, and regularly am in the neighborhood, and I thought it was just an experience that almost reminded me of experiences that I had when I was in the downtown area 20 years ago. People were … on the streets, shopping and interfacing and interacting. And having a good time. And some of those people were our constituents. This is a good thing. And, yes, I did see that people were on the streets, obviously they were security individuals. But I didn’t feel threatened. And I didn’t have anybody who approached me. When I asked them how do you feel, you know what they said? You have a beautiful city. I feel safe and welcome here. I don’t think I need to say anything more.

COMMITTEE CHAIR DON SAMUELS: I’m also going to support Council Member Ostrow’s position on this. I think I was sympathetic towards the concept of a report initially with Council Member Gordon. But I think the mayor’s and the chief’s agreement as to what would be in the report initially is not significantly different enough from what is proposed here to make us have a demand or request from the council. Because it does color how this is presented, as Council Member Ostrow said, both in the press and in the public perception, that there is some kind of call to accountability here, when in fact it’s really a success report. And I would be willing to support it if it was called a success report. Because I think that’s really what it is. And I was downtown here, I was in the center watching the TV cameras, and also in the deployment area, and you could definitely have the sense that anything could happen at any time. And in spite of that we had this incredible success.

COUNCIL MEMBER GARY SCHIFF: Mr. Chair, happy to take you up on your offer. Currently this is called an after-action review. If you would like it called a success report, happy to make that motion to get your support today.
SAMUELS: Well, that was just a kind of gesture, just communicating the spirit. It was not a serious proposal.
SCHIFF: Ah, I was hoping not to call your bluff. I was hoping you were sincere. I just will express disappointment. Since this report is to be written by the police chief, I don’t know what could possibly be in the report that my colleagues could be afraid of. This is not an investigation by the city council, this is a report by the police chief. So: disappointed.

Dolan said there were no felony arrests and just two gross misdemeanor arrests. “The bottom line with those individuals is that they wanted to be arrested,” he claimed. “I haven’t gotten any complaints about how they were arrested. it was basically uneventful for us.” He characterized the concert-goers as generally well-behaved. “They were rambunctious, but they were not damaging property,” he said. “They were not assaulting anybody. It was basically a big event.”

St. Paul Police Chief John Harrington stated that there were no major security problems in St. Paul on the third day of the convention. “Wednesday was a great day in St. Paul,” he said. “In balance it was a day that really was marked with lack of any major crisis or any major issues in the City of St. Paul at all.”

Harrington also spoke about the use of tear gas and other chemical irritants during the first two days of the convention. Some activists have questioned whether police are providing adequate warning before deploying such tools. “Our policy, and the policy we worked out uniformly with all of the agencies, is that we will announce,” he said. “We will give people an opportunity and direction as to how they can leave the area. … We will then make another announcement typically to say that we are now about to deploy gas, and then gas is deployed.”

There are exceptions to this policy, Harrington noted, when an officer or citizen is being attacked. “Our training generally is that we give verbal commands as we are using force,” he said. “So it would be atypical to have that not happen.”

At this point, it’s unknown whether Sheriff Richard Stanek will act on the federation’s request. Lt. Tracey Martin, a spokeswoman for the Sheriff’s Office, had no comment.

The federation’s stance is that Dolan “willfully violated” the state’s Data Practices Act in his public remarks about the reasons for the detective’s transfer from the Homicide Unit to the 4th Precinct Problem Properties Unit in November, according to Wachtler. In connection with those events, Adams, who is now reportedly being reshuffled to the 5th Precinct, is in the middle of a legal battle with the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD). On Feb. 15, the federation filed a defamation lawsuit against the department and Dolan, on Adams’ behalf. (In a separate legal action, Adams and four other prominent black police officers are suing the department on charges of racial discrimination on the job.)

Continued: Click “Read More”Although the chief has spoken about the Adams case in the media, Wachtler said it was during a Feb. 28 court hearing in the Adams suit that the chief let slip “some things that indicated in his own mind that there might be data practices consequences.” The transcript of those remarks is not public, but Dolan also commented in public to The Star Tribune and on Jason Lewis’s KTLK radio program; his remarks on the Lewis show are below.

Don Gemberling, an attorney and the state of Minnesota’s former data practices guru, tells Minnesota Monitor, “From my standpoint, [Adams and the Federation] have a pretty decent case.” Of Dolan’s alleged violations, he adds, “This is the kind of thing that shouldn’t happen because it’s so basic.” In a Jan. 28 Pioneer Press column, Gemberling had written that the kind of data-practices lawsuit that stands to cost a lot of money “involves the premature release of detailed disciplinary data about a public employee.”

Last Dec. 13, Dolan made the following remarks on the Jason Lewis Show: “I’ve had some discipline issues. I don’t make any apology for changes made because of those discipline issues.” Dolan claimed that Adams shouldn’t have defied his then-supervisor, Lt. Amelia Huffman, when he publicly disputed police statements about a murder case. “It was wrong,” Dolan said, “because [Adams] shouldn’t have talked about it for one thing. Two, he’s talking about the quality of evidence of the case in his view, not in view of the county attorney. … He shouldn’t have been commenting, period, much less contradicting the lieutenants. So it was problematic in more ways than one. … There was a professional line that was crossed there.”

Additionally, Dolan is quoted in a November 2007 Star Tribune story, saying of Adams, “In one word: insubordination. He needed to go.” He made similar statements in a MinnPost story.

Civil rights activist Ron Edwards said at a recent Police Community Relations Council meeting that a potential investigation of the chief is “important in light of the black police officers’ lawsuit against the department.” If the sheriff takes up the cause, it would be the first time that an incumbent Minneapolis police chief would be the target of a criminal investigation, Edwards says, adding that that is something he has gathered from his own research of the department. His assertion remains unconfirmed by police.

Dolan’s predecessor, William McManus (now chief of the San Antonio Police Department) was accused of a data practices violation after he disclosed details of a police officer’s interaction with a suspect from a recording that was supposed to be closed to the public. It led to a lawsuit that concluded with a $25,000 settlement in 2006.

Sgt. Jesse Garcia, a department spokesman, downplayed the allegations. “It doesn’t mean anything till charges have gone through. It doesn’t have any merit to it.”