In the wake of yet another killing by
Minneapolis Police, there is a lot of discussion of
independent investigations by boards not connected to
the police. Last year during the city elections, I
suggested replacing the civilian review board with an
elected commission on police accountability.
I believe the past two days have shown us the
necessity of such a body that would also be able to
sopeana, prosecute and fire when necessary. This sort
of thing will only stop once the police are as
accountable to the community as they are to the Mayor
and the police chief. I believe that this will only
happen when we are able to elect our representatives
on a real police review board with powers to
effectively discipline and prosecute police bullies.
I know there are people out there who may find
this unworkable, but remember, the Sheriff (who will
be investigating this)is elected. Unfortunately, as
Sheriff McGowan is a close friend of Chief Olson's, I
don't think many people trust his department to do a
truly objective investigation, but we can vote him out
of office. We need the same kind of accountability in
our own police department.
I'm also troubled by the article in yesterday's
Star Tribune. The article described this man as
running around with a machete and shouting, "Alahu
Akbar!" (God is Great.) I feel that some elements are
tying to stir up anti-muslim sentiment in this
community. I can't help thinking that the shooting,
the deportation of Somali refugees in Minnesota, and
W's war what he thinks is terrorism are all somehow
connected.
I'm interested in what the candidates running
for state offices plan to do about these issues, and
whether or not they have plans to curb the latest
round of police brutality that has occurred in
Richfield (where police severely beat a pregnant
Hispanic woman,) Moorhead (where police shot a
teenager several times,) and of course Minneapolis,
where if you're Black, Hispanic, young, have mental
health difficulties, or the police just don't like the
way you look you may not be alive after the police
knock at your door.
Tamir Nolley
Whittier, Ward 6, 61A
Someone who has had the crap knocked out of him by
police in the past.
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