City Council unanimously approves Minneapolis police oversight commission members

The Minneapolis City Council voted unanimously Thursday to approve 14 residents for the city's new police oversight commission.

The nominees were selected by each of the 13 council members to represent their wards and by Mayor Jacob Frey, who chose two members, for the 15-member Community Commission on Police Oversight.

The council approved 14 rather than 15 commission members because James Westphal, an attorney nominated by Council Member Andrew Johnson, withdrew his name late Wednesday due to a legal matter he said would occupy his time.

Johnson, who represents the 12th Ward, indicated he was already reviewing possibilities to fill the seat.

With Westphal's withdrawal, the commission is composed of seven white members and seven people of color, five of whom are Black, according to research done by the Star Tribune. One member is Black and Native American and another is white and Native American.

The commission has no Hispanic or Asian representatives, an omission that went unmentioned by council members during a brief discussion before the vote.

Asked afterward about the lack of Hispanic or Asian members, Minneapolis Civil Rights Director Alberder Gillespie said the new commission was "one of the most diverse bodies that we have. It is not just racially diverse, it is diverse in terms of the lived experiences of these commissioners."

She added: "I think the board will continue to evolve over time. But I think we have a good initial group of commission members who are ready to do the work."

Council members praised Gillespie for helping develop the ordinance creating the commission and overseeing the process of soliciting applicants, who numbered more than 160. Council President Andrea Jenkins said she was "thrilled with the level of interest" shown in serving on the commission.

Rotating panels comprised of three commission members and two police officers will consider complaints filed by citizens against Minneapolis police officers, reviewing investigations conducted by the police internal affairs unit or investigators with the city's Civil Rights Department.

The panels will vote on whether a complaint has merit and forward their findings to Police Chief Brian O'Hara, who would then determine whether an officer should be disciplined and what the discipline would be.

The commission also will meet at least eight times a year to consider whether to recommend policy changes or reforms.

Applicants who were not nominated for the commission included two retired Minneapolis deputy police chiefs, Greg Hestness and Scott Gerlicher. Some observers had said that since the review panels already have two officers on them, adding ex-police officers to the commission would be excessive.

Those not selected for the commission also included two applicants belonging to Communities United Against Police Brutality. The citizens' group, which has been highly critical of the city's failure to discipline officers for misconduct, has said the oversight commission should be independent of city administrators and have subpoena power.

The new commission members are Josh Loar, Ward 1; Mara Schanfield, Ward 2; Paul Olsen, Ward 3; Melissa Newman, Ward 4; Jennifer Clement, Ward 5; AJ Awed, Ward 6; Mary Dedeaux-Swinton, Ward 7; Fartun Weli, Ward 8; Stacey Gurian-Sherman, Ward 9; Alexis Pederson, Ward 10; Philip Sturm, Ward 11; Nichelle Williams-Johnson, Ward 13; and Louis Smith and Latonya Reeves, both nominated by Frey.