Transparency needed on policing report

Opinion editor's note: Editorials represent the opinions of the Star Tribune Editorial Board, which operates independently from the newsroom.

•••

Negotiations between the city of Minneapolis and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights on a consent decree for the Police Department have been stalled.

The two sides had started to discuss what legally binding provisions should be included, but city officials haven't participated in the last two scheduled meetings, arguing that they need more information and evidence of the claims made in the probable-cause findings.

That's a legitimate request. The Human Rights Department (MDHR) should share additional information with the city and the public to back up its case and add transparency to the process. And city officials should follow through on a pledge made Friday and return to the critical talks while moving forward with policing reforms.

Prompted by the 2020 murder of George Floyd, the Human Rights Department conducted a two-year investigation of the MPD. The department's 72-page report on that probe, released in April, concluded that the city engaged in a pattern of racial discrimination in violation of the state's civil rights law. The findings claimed that police and several administrations over the past 10 years failed to hold problem officers accountable.

The report also said police created covert social media accounts — sometimes with no authorization — to spy on Black people and Black-led organizations unrelated to criminal activity.

Peter Ginder, acting Minneapolis city attorney, told an editorial writer that the city asked for more information to make the meetings with Human Rights "more fruitful.'' He pointed out that the MPD is currently being investigated by the federal Department of Justice, which means the city could potentially end up operating under two separate consent decrees. The city would like to have issues raised by the state and federal agencies covered in one document.

But in a letter of response dated June 10, Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero wrote that "MDHR and the City are not currently in court litigating each fact that underlies the pattern of race discrimination. Further detailing or disclosing specific pieces of evidence at this stage could jeopardize attorney work product and privileged information, reveal confidential sources, and undermine litigation if that becomes necessary.''

The letter went on to say that the MDHR's priority is restarting negotiations. Lucero expressed hope that the two sides will make progress on the consent decree and avoid prolonged and costly litigation.

In an interview with an editorial writer and in her letter, the commissioner mentioned the city's decision to skip two scheduled meetings and said that the MDHR wants to "meaningfully address the serious problems of race-based policing undermining public safety in Minneapolis.''

Lucero said that every finding in the MDHR's probable-cause determination is supported by robust data — much of it provided by the MPD — and that the city already has substantive evidence to support every finding of race discrimination.

As the Star Tribune Editorial Board has previously noted, there's no question that there are deeply embedded, race-based problems within the MPD. It's a department that has needed reform for years, and many of the findings in the MDHR report reflect complaints from communities of color over profiling, arrests and brutality.

Late Friday, the city attorney's office released a statement saying the city will participate in the next scheduled talks with MDHR even though officials are "disappointed" they have not received the information they requested. The statement also said a City Hall working group is doing consent-decree planning.

Lucero and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey both stand to gain if the MDHR report leads to constructive reforms that last beyond any one mayor, policy chief or state human rights commissioner. But first city and state officials need to start talking again.