Counterpoint: Some people are stuck on all-or-nothing police reform

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When your only tool is a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail. In Jim Davnie’s Jan. 8 commentary, “DOJ consent decree will not save us,” the “Don’t Rank Frey” hammer — dusted off from 2021 — found its match in the U.S. Justice Department’s consent-decree nail.

While he was a state representative, Davnie signed a well-publicized letter in October 2021 urging voters to rank anybody but Mayor Jacob Frey, a month before Frey cruised to re-election. This commentary, and that letter, repeated the points of the Yes 4 Minneapolis campaign to remove the Police Department (MPD) from the city charter, claiming real reform was not possible without changing the charter and/or removing the mayor.

But this didn’t happen. The ballot question was voted down. And as promised, Frey created an Office of Community Safety to oversee public-safety functions. And thanks to Minneapolis voters, those functions would continue to include a Police Department.

As we enter another municipal election year, residents deserve a more honest and nuanced conversation than pro- or anti-police or pro- or anti-Frey. Let’s stop starting from a conclusion and mangling or ignoring the facts to support it. The details matter, so let’s go through them.

On the consent-decree front, Frey and the city attorneys worked adeptly to finish the negotiating process before President Donald Trump takes office. It is a major win that they were able to cement the decree before the incoming administration could torpedo the process. Davnie ignores this achievement to avoid giving credit to the mayor.

Davnie also posits that Frey has supposedly failed to implement the community-safety work group recommendations. This is false. The top work group recommendation was to implement the aforementioned Office of Community Safety. The group recommended establishing recruitment partnerships with colleges and universities, expanding community service officer and cadet outreach efforts, and creating a K-12 public safety career pathways program, all of which Frey and his administration have implemented. What is becoming clear is that Frey’s accomplishments do not count to Davnie because … well, you can judge for yourself.

Most important, Davnie’s critique of Mayor Frey and the consent decree completely ignores the central issue that the MPD faces today: critically low staffing.

Davnie and other proponents of the failed 2021 police ballot question seem unable to move on from a brief fantasy where it looked as though Minneapolis might actually defund the police. In this fantasy, the number of police we have is insignificant because we don’t need police, and therefore reform is the singular goal of the Police Department.

Reform through culture change is a lofty goal — a goal that is served by recruiting more officers who can develop relationships, prevent and respond to crime, and improve the culture of the Minneapolis Police Department for generations to come. But the tired argument that no progress can be made until police spending is cut or there is a new mayor is not only demoralizing, it’s outright false.

The City Council cut money the mayor proposed for consent-decree implementation and recruitment in budget amendments to fund a litany of nonprofit spending. This move was bad for reform and safety and for taxpayers, who will continue to pay for record overtime until the department is back near full staffing.

The council refused Frey’s recommendation to spend slightly less than half of the $19 million that the city received for public safety aid in 2023 from the state on police recruitment and retention. Instead, it favored a smattering of new smaller programs and deferring the money for future use.

While reform through accountability is essential, the city also needs a functional and adequately staffed police force to maintain public safety and rebuild a new, better culture in the ranks.

And while I certainly do not agree with Mayor Frey on everything, he has made progress in reforming the department, has avoided the trap of all-or-nothing when it comes to a divisive issue and has worked with two anti-police City Councils to minimize the damage of the “defund” movement and pass a much-needed contract with both raises and improved oversight.

We can agree that the consent decree is not a panacea for police reform. But replacing a mayor who has taken challenging positions, made real changes and begun to help rebuild the department would be a step in the wrong direction at a critical time.

Tyler Balbuena, of Minneapolis, is the Senate District 59 DFL vice chair.