Re: [Mpls] reply to Jordan Kushner

[Jordan Kushner]

Ed, were are you getting your information about the Civil Rights Commission?  First, the Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission DOES have currently have jurisdiction over the Minneapolis the police. This power was granted by a charter amendment passed by voter referendum in 1997.  Second, however, the Civil Rights Commission ONLY can investigate DISCRIMINATION as defined by the civil rights ordinance.  This power is far more narrow than you suggest.  A.  The discrimination provisions do not automatically protect non-white males from police misconduct.  The civil rights ordiance only applies if it can be proven that the misconduct was motivated by discrimination.  Therefore, if a cop (of any gender or color) thumps someone not because he or she is racist or sexist, but simply because the cop is a thug - there is no remedy with the civil rights commission.  B.  It is possible that white heterosexual males could have a remedy under the civil rights ordinance, but only if the police discriminated against them specifically because they were white, heterosexual, or male.  C. There is not any special exception for people getting beaten up by cops at demonstrations.  The Minneapolis civil rights ordinance does not have any protections related to political discrmination or free speech.   Conclusion is the same - significant changes to the power of the Civil Rights Commission would need to be made in order to allow it to deal meaningfully with police misconduct.  Meanwhile, our elected officials are avoiding their responsibilities to protect the public from abusive police by elimating the Civilian Review Authority without any attempts to create a meaningful independent mechanism to monitor the police.   BTW, I received a suggestion offline that perhaps RT might be repaying the Police Federation for its high profile endorsement.  The Police Federation has always vigourously opposed the creation and maintaining of an independent authority, and has effectively used its clout to make sure that it could never be effective.  Given the controversy around RT's courting of the Police Federation after campaigning so much as a reformer, these connections need to be questioned.   Jordan Kushner Ward 8 ----- Original Message ----- From: Ed Felien To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2002 2:18 PM Subject: [Mpls] reply to Jordan Kushner reply to Jordan Kushner Yes, Jordan, you're right.  Giving the Civil Rights Commission power to investigate the actions of the police would not solve all the problems, but it would begin to solve the most serious ones.  The only people not covered under the proposal would be white males (that's you and me), and we'd be covered when we're at demonstrations, which is where we get into most of our trouble, anyway. If people of color or women or gays felt they were victims of the use of excessive force in their arrest, then they could get a fair hearing before the Civil Rights Commission, and the police could be compelled to testify.  Damages could be awarded and a police officer's conduct would become a matter of public record. It's not perfect, but it would be a step in the right direction and it would save money. Ed Felien ----- Original Message ----- From: Ed Felien To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2002 2:18 PM Subject: [Mpls] reply to Jordan Kushner reply to Jordan Kushner Yes, Jordan, you're right.  Giving the Civil Rights Commission power to investigate the actions of the police would not solve all the problems, but it would begin to solve the most serious ones.  The only people not covered under the proposal would be white males (that's you and me), and we'd be covered when we're at demonstrations, which is where we get into most of our trouble, anyway. If people of color or women or gays felt they were victims of the use of excessive force in their arrest, then they could get a fair hearing before the Civil Rights Commission, and the police could be compelled to testify.  Damages could be awarded and a police officer's conduct would become a matter of public record. It's not perfect, but it would be a step in the right direction and it would save money. Ed Felien