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I have been reading the Star Tribune since I began attending Gustavus Adolphus College back in 1967. I spent 30 years living on a farm on the Iowa border and continued to read the paper, moving to the Twin Cities in 2002. I certainly didn't need to read the new report on the Minneapolis Police Department to know any of what it reported ("A pattern of racism at MPD," front page, April 28). The Star Tribune along with many other media outlets in the Twin Cities have been reporting what's in it for years. All you needed to do was tally up the amounts the city of Minneapolis was paying out for police bad behavior over the years — millions upon millions! — and then read that the cop involved just got his job back because of the union. It's been right there in front of you all along. But it took riots for the city to finally wake up and do something!
Sheila L. Ehrich, Farmington
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I am sickened by the report on the Minneapolis police's civil rights abuses. How can this have happened in one of the most progressive Midwestern cities? And how was this unknown to the leadership? Did no one speak up? Were police officers afraid of repercussions? Was the department a toxic mix of a sickness no one tried to cure? Was that police union a haven for racist, abusive police? The department's horrible policy needs to be destroyed!
There must be clear leadership and respect and value shown to all people, including those who are mentally ill, addicted to drugs, alcoholics, poor, disheveled, non-English-speaking and more. The police need more education about the above issues, awareness of the beauty of our rich diversity and an ability for self-examination. And they must be screened out for any right-wing radical connections. They likely need routine individual and group therapy sessions given the extreme stressfulness of their jobs, too.
I also feel strongly that the "shoot to kill" policy should be discontinued. Police have shot and killed too many who have severe mental illness and/or drug or alcohol abuse disorders.