Ward 7 Update from Council Member Lisa Goodman

This has been an incredible week, one like I’ve never experienced in all the years I have served the constituents of Ward 7.  I have received hundreds of emails and phone calls from people expressing themselves and sharing their thoughts, ideas and feelings about where we find ourselves today.  There is no question that serious change is required, and I believe that change is beginning starting today.

Between the situation with the City Council working remotely, and all of the City Council Members working diligently to respond to the people they represent, there has not been much time for conversations with my colleagues but it is now time for us to roll up our sleeves and sit down to some very serious discussion on how we move forward. 

The Minneapolis City Council along with the Mayor, the Police Chief and the community need to come together, leaving no stone unturned, and consider every possibility on how we can make deep and lasting, systemic change to protect all the citizens of our great City.  Trust in the police department is at an all-time low and incremental changes will not be enough.

As it stands right now, the police union contract is expired, and our Labor representatives along with the cities Executive Committee were already in negotiations regarding the upcoming police contract.  Given that we do not have legal authority to fire the Union President, the city has been working from an important list of reforms as vetted and suggested by members of the community who have spent decades working on police reform issues.   There needs to be accountability for the actions of individual police officers.  Hearing about the number of complaints against Derek Chauvin throughout his career, it goes without saying that inaction is completely unacceptable.  Our police Chief has fired a number of officers in the past 4 years but the binding arbitration provision in the contract has resulted in the arbitrator reinstating several of these officers, that needs to change. I do believe in individual redemption, however, when your job is to Serve and Protect and you repeatedly violate that oath, you are obviously not fit to work in our city, especially with a gun.

It is very telling when the AFL-CIO and the former Minneapolis Police Chief, Janee Harteau are calling for the resignation of Police Federation Leadership.  Former Mayor R.T. Rybak and Chief Harteau have both spoken out on the battles they have fought trying to get any change in the Police Federation.

Another big structural hurdle that needs to be reviewed is the current system for police oversight by the City’s elected officials.  The Minneapolis City Charter currently has the police department under the direction of the Mayor.  The City Council has limited tools available to us when it comes to police policy.  One of the primary tools we have is our authority over budgets and I know that will be a big part of the conversations as we move forward.  This will be a delicate balance because any cuts made cannot have unintentional consequences that could make problems worse and I definitely do not want to see the City lose any of the newly trained recruits, some of the most culturally diverse classes we have seen.

I am also proud to be a supporter of the many alternative/community policing initiatives the City of Minneapolis has put in place in recent years.  Organizations like Mad Dad’s, Mother’s Love, YouthLink and the DID have proven to be an enormous asset in community policing.  They do amazing work and connect directly with people in the community while offering or connecting them to services they need.  We also need to expand the co-responder program.  This has proven to be incredibly helpful as we have embeded mental health professionals into the work of the police department, providing compassionate responses and direct access to resources to people in need.

An additional place that needs change and reform is at the state level.  There are many state laws that hinder the City’s ability for transparency and accountability.   Examples include prohibiting the city form implementing a residency requirement for city employees and gutting our civilian review process, which truly needs strengthening.  I call upon our state legislature to step up and dig into the changes that can be made at that level as they reconvene for the upcoming special session.  It is important that we all put pressure on them, not our own legislators Dibble, Hornstein, Dehn and Champion as they are leading as they can to do the right thing for systemic change and to provide assistance to our community to rebuild and to maintain access to essential goods and services but all the outside legislatures that will voting on these statewide policies.

Throughout my career I have not been someone that rushes to a solution.  Although we need to move quickly, we must also evaluate all options and make certain we have community support.  We need lasting and effective change to provide safety for all members of the community.  I will continue to listen to my constituents and the residents of Minneapolis, look to other cities and organizations that are engaged in this work and I will have extensive dialogue with my colleagues so we will be able to put forward the best possible plan for lasting change.

Today the city council voted on a stipulation agreement with the state Department of Human Rights. That agreement will put forward a number of policy changes that will be in effect immediately and the police chief will be held accountable to ensuring these policies are enacted immediately.  I fully support this action and all council members voted in the affirmative.  I am including a news article below that breaks down the agreement and contains a link to view the actual stipulation agreement.

It’s important for you all to know that the city’s phone lines have been down for almost a week due to cyberattacks and volume.  We had over 3500 voicemails in just 24 hours, most not from constituents and it has slowed down and shut down city systems.  I am so very sorry if you have called and we haven’t been able to get back to you.  In addition, e-mails are flooding our systems from all over the world.  They come in at a rate of 30 or more per minute and its been terribly hard to keep up and sort through constituents who I want and try to respond to and everything else.  I ask for your patience as we attempt to work thought this and if you don’t hear back immediately, as is our goal and what I work to do every day, I apologize.

I encourage people to continue contacting me with their ideas and I also encourage you all to be in touch with state elected officials as change is required at all levels of government to make real change.  In the past week I have seen our community come together in amazing ways.  I have seen and heard the passion around this work that needs to progress, and I have seen people looking out for each other and stepping up to help the community as a whole.  In this I have hope!

In Peace and Solidarity,

Lisa

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City Council Signs Off on Stipulation for Court Order Outlining Immediate Changes for Minneapolis Police Department, Framework for Long-Term State Investigation

June 5, 2020 (MINNEAPOLIS) The Minneapolis City Council approved the terms of a stipulation for a temporary restraining order today outlining immediate changes that must be implemented by the Minneapolis Police Department and a framework for systemic change as part of the long-term investigation underway by Minnesota Department of Human Rights.

The Minnesota Department of Human Rights launched an investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department June 2 after filing a civil rights charge related to the death of George Floyd. The investigation into policies, procedures and practices over the past 10 years will determine if the MPD has engaged in systematic discriminatory practices toward people of color and ensure any such practices are stopped.

The order specifies that MPD and the City must implement the following measures immediately:

• MPD must ban neck restraints or choke holds for any reason within 10 days of the effective date of this order.
• Regardless of tenure or rank, any member of the MPD who observes another member of the MPD use any unauthorized use of force, including any choke hold or neck restraint, has an affirmative duty to immediately report the incident while still on scene by phone or radio to their commander or their commander’s superiors.
• Regardless of tenure or rank, any member of the MPD who observes another member of the MPD use any unauthorized use of force, including any choke hold or neck restraint, must attempt to safely intervene by verbal and physical means, and if they do not do so they are subject to discipline to the same severity as if they themselves engaged in the prohibited use of force.
• Only the police chief or the chief’s designee at the rank of deputy chief or above may authorize the use of crowd control weapons during protests and demonstrations.
• The police chief must make timely discipline decisions as outlined in the order.
• Civilian body warn camera analysts and investigators with the City’s Office of Police Conduct Review  have the authority to proactively audit body worn camera footage and file or amend complaints on behalf of the Minneapolis Civil Rights Department.

The order also commits the City to working with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights on several fronts to build toward systemic change within MPD as part of the long-term investigation.

The City will prepare a report listing all of the State of Minnesota laws that impede public transparency of police data and/or prevent the mayor and police chief and/or impede civilian oversight from disciplining and terminating police officers who do not adhere to Minneapolis Police Department policies and standards. The report is due by July 30, 2020.

Minnesotans with information that can further the investigation into the MPD should contact the Department of Human Rights at mn.gov/mdhr or 651-539-1100.

Public Works Update on Services

Public Works crews are working around the city catching up and cleaning up.

Garbage and recycling service update Collection crews have caught up from service delays. Crews are unable to return for missed materials. Place extra bags or boxes next to your cart(s) by 6 a.m. on your next collection day. Find your collection day.

South Transfer Station

The South Transfer Station will reopen on Friday. Due to COVID-19, only Solid Waste & Recycling customers who have vouchers can use the South Transfer Station.

Streets

Street crews continue to clean up debris and sweep and wash the streets.

Volunteer cleanup support

Crews continue to distribute bags and gloves to volunteers. We will continue to pick up bagged garbage that has been placed at the corners until at least 2 p.m. Friday.

City equipment repair

We continue to inspect and repair City equipment in the right of way such as street lights and traffic signals.

Situational Update as of 12 noon, June 3

• There are 3,402 cases in the City of Minneapolis and 137 deaths. The City is sharing Minneapolis specific daily case counts and demographics through a public facing dashboard at www.minneapolismn.gov/coronavirus/dashboard. The dashboard has been updated to provide more data on neighborhood level numbers of cases, and other demographic data.

• Congregate living facilities in Minneapolis continue to see new cases among residents and while accounting only for 12% of confirmed cases, account for 79% of COVID-19 deaths.

• There are 25,870 cases in Minnesota out of over 265,000 tests completed. There have been 1,086 deaths from COVID-19 in Minnesota. There are 8,738 cases and 633 deaths in Hennepin County.

• There are over 6.4 million confirmed cases worldwide. There have been over 380,000 deaths globally and 1.8 million deaths are confirmed in the US. The US remains the country with the highest number of cases and deaths by a significant margin. A total of 106,696 deaths have been reported in the US.

• The Minnesota Department of Health is recommending expanding COVID-19 testing due to recent mass events, civil unrest and the response to the civil unrest that occurred across the state beginning May 25, 2020.

• Thousands of people may have been exposed to COVID-19 due to the large concentration of people in one area. Identifying and testing individuals who may have participated in a large public event will improve the ability to identify cases and institute appropriate isolation and quarantine measures.

• Testing criteria include people who have participated in any large gatherings including but not limited to protests, community clean up and recovery efforts, vigils, neighborhood meetings (both those with symptoms and those who are asymptomatic). This also includes first responders and others who responded to the events.

• As of June 1, the Governor’s Stay Safe MN order allows limited access to outdoor dining, salons and youth sports practices. The Mayor has issued several Emergency Regulations requiring that masks be worn in indoor public spaces starting May 26 and one that allows for the streamlining of the permission process for restaurants and bars interested in expanding their outdoor dining venues.

Health Incident Command updates

As the Health Department continues to respond to COVID-19, we are applying an equity lens to all our work in conjunction with partners across the City enterprise.

• The Health Department is conducting over 30 case investigations and contact follow-up for individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 per day and has completed over 780 case investigations since May 8. Currently, MHD has 21 investigators and is onboarding an additional 6 this week. Of the over 780 case investigations conducted, 47% were done in a language other than English. MHD will be training 15 individuals from other departments to begin case investigations by mid-June.
• MHD is working on 2 testing events to take place in the Cedar Riverside area but have been pushed to next week because of the civil unrest. Additional community based testing sites may be added to accommodate those who may have been exposed due to protests, community clean-up and other large community events. The state has a list of testing locations searchable by county.
• The Health Department worked with NCR and community partners to provide an estimated 53,000 cloth masks to protesters over the weekend. Many of these masks came from the MN Department of Health. New research published in the Lancet reinforces the message that cloth face mask use combined with physical distancing can reduce the spread of the virus.
• Over the weekend, Health Department staff assisted with symptom monitoring for 373 people who left the homeless encampment because of safety concerns and are staying in hotels primarily in Brooklyn Center. Start Today and Avivo are providing support services to 173 individuals and suboxone is also being provided by Southside Harm Reduction. In addition, two more hygiene stations have been added.
• Health Department staff have used the COVID Emergency Management structure to address food insecurity, help businesses impacted by property damage, and are working on ways to address community mental health in the aftermath of the murder and community unrest. Many staff are pitching in on their own time as community volunteers engaged in protests and vigils, community clean-up and the provision of food and supplies.

• The City specific COVID email address is: COVID19@minneapolismn.gov.