Approximately 100 community members filled the hall at the Ukrainian American Community Center for a Wednesday, March 12 community engagement meeting with Effective Law Enforcement for All (ELEFA).
Held in accordance with stipulations in a Settlement Agreement and Order of July 13, 2023 between the Minnesota Department of Human Rights and the City of Minneapolis and its police department, ELEFA laid out the progress to date regarding compliance with the agreement’s goals and later took questions from those in attendance.
In the immediate wake of the May 2020 murder of George Floyd, MDHR Commissioner Rebecca Lucero filed a discrimination charge against the city, including the police department, alleging a “pattern or practice of racial discrimination.” As spelled out in the agreement, the parties involved have resolved to develop MPD’s “Mission, Vision, Values, Goals, and non-discriminatory policing and impartial policing, use of force, and stops, searches, and arrests policies” in a manner that certifies that these policies “reflect the values and needs of the Minneapolis community, the humanity, dignity, and civil rights of individuals.”
After brief welcoming remarks from Minneapolis Third Ward Council Member Michael Rainville, ELEFA independent evaluator and former head of both the New Orleans and Baltimore police departments Michael Harrison introduced the ELEFA team and said MPD is in its “foundational phase of its reform implementation efforts.”
He listed forthcoming steps that will include “updates on policy and training,” the creation of “technology systems that are fully capable” and will allow them to “audit and assess the work that they are doing,” and “advancing a culture of accountability.” He said these changes are “designed to improve officer performance based on an improved set of standards that are compliant with the settlement agreement’s requirements.”
Harrison said ELEFA’s first semi-annual progress review report can be viewed in its entirety on their website (elefamn.org) and noted some highlights, including the status of internal affairs cases, efforts of the city’s Civil Rights department to assist the Office of Police Conduct Review and the efforts to complete use of force reports (the review report noted a backlog of over 1,100 such cases at the time of release).
Arlinda Westbrook, former deputy superintendent of the New Orleans police department, elaborated on the backlogs that have been present in the OPCR and internal affairs divisions. She said these offices were operating with significant staffing shortages, but that improvements have occurred of late, including the hiring of Michelle Phillips as new director of the Minneapolis Department of Civil Rights.
David Douglass, president and founder of ELEFA, reviewed some of the findings of the progress review report, including the backlog challenge and the ongoing update of body-worn camera review procedures. He stressed the importance of the role that these cameras play, as they “enable us to audit and to really see what’s going on, on the streets.” He said he feels Minneapolis is further ahead in its first year of compliance progress than other cities facing similar review processes.
Lisa Fink, ELEFA’s policy lead, reviewed her past experiences working with departments who were under federal scrutiny, before outlining the criteria that they use to judge whether new policy is compliant with the settlement agreement and also clear to the officers who must abide by them, as well as “meaningfully incorporat(ing) public feedback.”
Retired Los Angeles deputy chief Bill Murphy, ELEFA’s training lead, wrapped up the presentation. He recounted his experience working under federal court oversight for 12 years and how the payoffs make it all worthwhile.
“It’s not easy … it’s not cheap, but you’re going to be a way, way better police department for it,” he said. He stressed the importance of feedback prior to policy development and implementation and noted that officers “need to know what we’re going to hold them accountable to.”