Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey announced Monday a new discipline grid for the city's Police Department he says will make it "incredibly clear" how officers will be punished if they break policy.
The updated discipline matrix creates a new category for "E-level" violations, which will result in automatic termination. These include officers violating the city's anti-discrimination policy, using biased language, making false statements, recklessly using firearms, using unnecessary force, failing to report force and maliciously searching or arresting someone.
The matrix similarly lists penalties for lower violations, all the way down to "A-level," which will lead to "non-disciplinary corrective action," such as coaching or mentoring. A-level infractions include uniform violations, failure to appear in court for the first time and others that amount to "an isolated incident" that "may have a minimal negative impact on operations or professional image of the Minneapolis Police Department."
Committing a B-level infraction, such as skipping a training course or using "minor coarse, profane, discourteous, or insolent language," could lead to a letter of reprimand and 10 to 40 hours of suspension. Improperly handling evidence or personal property taken from a person who is in custody amounts to a C-level violation, punishable by 40 to 160 hours of suspension. An officer showing up to work intoxicated — a D-level violation — could mean a demotion and 160 to 300 hours of suspension.
Issues with the Police Department's disciplinary process have dogged the city for years. In its recent investigation of Minneapolis police, the Minnesota Department of Human Rights found "MPD fails to consistently hold officers accountable for police misconduct, either through coaching or formal discipline," allowing problem behavior to go unchecked.
The city has dealt with most sustained complaints against officers through coaching, a secretive process that critics say amounts to a legal loophole to keep allegations against officers out of the public eye.
In a news conference alongside interim Police Chief Amelia Huffman on Monday, Frey said the new model will bring more clarity to officers and the public, and ensure the city lives up to its promise to "hold officers accountable who need to be held accountable." His administration last updated the discipline matrix in 2018, but that version "basically looks like the 'Da Vinci Code' or something you've got to crack," Frey said.
Frey said the new grid also takes more consideration of the harm or risk of harm a police officer's infraction causes to the safety of a community member, officer, the public or community trust and to the professional reputation of the department and its relationships.
