Mark Snyder
Tue, 26 Jul 2005 03:09:20 -0700
On 7/21/05 1:39 PM, "wmmarks" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > David Strand wrote: > >> I'd say that it is those who blindly praise officers >> as if they are some kind of symbolic talisman rather >> than human beings who are just trying to do a job and >> sometimes in need of admonition as well as praise who >> really don't get it. >> >> > Yesterday's City Pages has a really interesting story by Demko and > Anderson about Mpls. cops and the costs thereof. I was especially struck > by the quotes of our current chief and those of Mr. Finny, former chief > in St. Paul. (I won't spoil it by telling you. Read this one yourself.) > I was also struck by the amount of money spent on law suits--it really > adds up and pretty quickly too. > > Good job, Anderson and Demko.
I agree with Wizard that this is a great article and if you didn't get a chance to pick up that issue of the City Pages, you can find it online here: http://citypages.com/databank/26/1285/article13519.asp The only problem I have is the suggestion that having fewer cops on the streets has led to cops being "stressed" and so has perhaps played a part in some of the incidents that are described in the article. While I can sympathize with cops being stressed due to reduced staffing, I think it's pretty pathetic to suggest that as a reason for cops assaulting people. There are all kinds of examples out there where folks have had their workloads increase or have been made less effective due to staff cuts. An industry fee program that I now administer as part of my job used to be run by two or three people at various times. There are certainly times when I feel "stressed" while I carry out the tasks involved - some of which involves responding to angry folks who are not familiar with the fee and don't bother to read the letter or the fact sheet I enclose with the invoice (that usually answers their question/complaint) before writing or calling to chew me out. While it's tempting at times, I somehow manage to avoid even responding in kind to their verbal abuse, let alone kicking any of them in the head. And I haven't even had any of the conflict resolution training that cops are supposed to receive while at the police academy. There's been a lot of talk in this forum about how money has been "wasted" by city leaders that could have gone to paying for more cops. To me, the biggest waste is the $10 million-plus that's been paid out in settlements over the last 10 years due to cops not being able to control their tempers. For those who like to do math, that's 133 extra cops we could've had over that span. So here's my suggestion: If John Delmonico and the Police Federation want to do something to help stop the bleeding on police staffing, they would purchase a big sign to hang up at the Federation's offices that shows what the settlements have been each year for police abuse and how many cops that equals to drive the message home that when any one cop crosses the line, it hurts all of them. Mark Snyder Windom Park REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls