The U.S. Department of Justice report on the occupation of the Fourth Precinct police station is a 108-page confirmation of what most people already knew:
North Minneapolis is a toxic mix of demoralized police officers overseeing a community that is often afraid of them. Mayor Betsy Hodges and Police Chief Janeé Harteau don't care much for each other, and when things get tough, that becomes a major problem. When faced with a crisis, some politicians are apt to follow their instincts or cater to their interests rather than show a united front. Hodges doesn't communicate well, or enough. It's hard to be a police officer in north Minneapolis, but it's even harder to be a young black man.
Given the historic nature of the confrontation that happened after the death of Jamar Clark, the outcome of the 18-day protest occupation could have been much more dire and the DOJ report much worse. A city under siege doesn't usually get a good report card.
"No city in America has been through anything like it," Hodges said at a news conference Monday. There were tense moments and sporadic violence from the protesters and incidents in which police used unauthorized force, but the city did not explode like other cities across the country.
City officials and community leaders each took credit for the restraint and relative peace. Both deserve some.
Cops, especially officers of color, were taunted, hit with rocks and food and targeted with Molotov cocktails. They were frustrated by a lack of direction, kept clueless to the strategy being implemented by the mayor's people, sometimes even without the involvement of the chief. It's not surprising some of them disobeyed orders and followed their instincts for self-preservation.
Overall, officers acted with incredible restraint and patience under extreme duress and with little support. They deserve credit.
On Monday, Hodges and Harteau stood side by side, as they often did during the occupation, with no hint of the animosity revealed in the DOJ report.
