In response to Roxanna and Vanessa:
I can't really say I'm suprised. CM Barb Johnson runs ways and means and managed to single handedly keep Olson as Police Chief despite the majority of comminuty members support for the mayor's attempt to buy out the contract. I also noticed that CM Ostrow replaced CM Zimmermann on Public Safety and Reg. Services...that scares me quite a bit. Zimmermann and Zerby are usually the only ones demanding real answers for the misconduct that occures at least once a month. I have no idea where Ostrow stands on these issues. As long as Olson remains, (and for that matter as long as Barb Johnson remains) there will no serious, successful attempt to reconcile differences between police and community. We can only hope that the new police chief we'll get next year is more open to mediation but I fear Minneapolis is headed for another riot a-la Cincinatti...and maybe that's what it's going to take for us to deal with the real issues, and maybe then those who have not had the negative experiences with the police that for many of us are a weekly occurance....many we can talk to each other and learn form each other. But for now, I'd much rather have crime and graffitti in my neighborhood that suffer the humiliating treatment of the current police force, and a city leadership which subverts or blocks all real attempts for mediation or civilian review. On a different note, has anyone else noticed that there have been more complaints against the State Patrol and Transit Police and less against Minneapolis 2nd Precinct officers since Rich Stanek became Commissioner of Public Safety? I'd be interested in knowing which Minneapolis State Senators voted to confirm him and why. I'd like to know if the DFL controled Senate looked in to those brutality settlements (between Mpls/Rich Stanek and the motorists he roughed up) and if not why not. The law and order crowd seems firmly in control for the time being, so we should all enjoy what little freedom we have left for as long as we have it. Anyone in Minnesota could be the next victim of excessive treatment by law enforcement. Tamir Nolley Holland w3 pct2 Roxanna Orrel Wrote: Some of the answer may come with the realization of two key problems - that Olson is doing everything he can to ignore his bosses' instruction to mediate (WHO is running the city???) while they don't come down on him like a ton of bricks for that, and that the media is being incredibly quiet about the matter so that the people of Mpls don't know what's up and don't have a lot of info to organize around and put pressure on elected leaders from the grass roots. So, what to do about it? CUAPB, from what I understand, is in the middle of a lawsuit to get Olson to do his job and come to the table. But we know that the legal system is slow-moving, where political pressure may be far more effective. With regard to the peace movement, entire neighborhoods (via neighborhood orgs & other bodies) have come together to put pressure on our government. Would it not be fruitful for citizens to do the same with regard to police brutality? If communities can unite to stand against war thousands of miles away, should they not unite to pressure our Mpls government to end a war against its own citizens? While CUAPB has been doing a lot of excellent work, helping to mobilize even more grass-roots power behind those efforts may be the most powerful weapon of the people. Similarly, putting pressure on the mainstream media to cover the issues thoroughly and without pro-police bias is terribly important. Alternative media is grand, but the mainstream doesn't read alternative media. This issue has not even come onto the radar of many Minneapolitans. I can't entirely condemn them for being blind, either - if I was getting my information on the issue from the Star Tribune or channel 4/5/9/11 news, as so many do, I'd have no idea what the heck was actually going on, who the key players are, or what the fuss is all about. I think we have a long way to go in terms of knocking back the rather effective campaign to cut this issue out of the mainstream consciousness. Just some food for thought. Not being connected personally into the daily fight on this issue, I'd wonder if this might not be a great place for the organizers to share some updates on efforts & events, and make some suggestions to those who want to help out. Roxana Orrell Central __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Platinum - Watch CBS' NCAA March Madness, live on your desktop! http://platinum.yahoo.com TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Send all posts in plain-text format. 2. Cut as much of the post you're responding to as possible. ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
