-----Original Message----- From: Robin Garwood, Robin
I agree with Emilie that it would be ideal if our police officers lived within the boundaries of our city. However, my understanding is that the Supreme Court struck down municipal laws requiring residency of city employees. Can someone out there let me know if this is the case? [TB] My recollection was that the MN Legislature passed a law prohibiting cities from having such a requirement. There was an intense lobby effort by the police union, albeit, it doesn't hurt your efforts when one of your members (Rick Stanek) has a seat in the MN House. Back to the Chief. I agree that merely getting a new Chief will solve the problem. We need a Chief who among other things will talk to the community and enforce discipline in the department. The current Chief does neither. We've long heard complaints from Council Members that the Chief would fail to show up at meetings to address issues in the department. His lack of cooperation on the budget isn't something totally new. I'm concerned that the leaders of some groups have announced that because the Mayor hasn't talked to them he doesn't know what members of their group think. This Mayor spends more time out in the community talking to people than probably any Mayor in the 20-plus years that I've lived in Minneapolis. One thing this guy does is listen. I find the name of Inspector Lucy Gerold being floated as Interim Chief intriguing. Back a couple of years ago when I took the Citizens' Academy she spoke to the class, she ran another part of the department at the time although had a title slightly different from Deputy Chief. She came to the department in a civilian role in what is now CCP SAFE and became a sworn officer later in her career. That background in other than sworn officer but still in law enforcement and working closely with the community may provide some insights that a person who had only been a sworn officer wouldn't have. At this point, I don't see how Olson can stay. His lack of support in the Mayor's office, even in a city with a weak mayor, has become to public. City leaders now need to figure the smoothest way out. Terrell Brown Loring Park _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
