In many ways, outgoing Minneapolis police chief remains an outsider Rochelle Olson and David Chanen, Star Tribune Published October 27, 2003 http://www.startribune.com/stories/484/4176360.html
Article: "Back then it was: 'They took me in the alley and beat me up.' Today it's: 'They were rude,' " Olson said. He admitted, though, that nine years is not enough time to completely change a culture. Response: The controversial choking and killing of Christopher Burns as well as choking of Mr. Alfred Flower must have escaped Chief Olson memory. Article: Attorney Robert Bennett often represents plaintiffs in suits against the police. Bennett said Olson isn't the problem; it's the union. Response: Hmm-"its the union". I wonder could these union members support the Democratric-Farmer-Labor (DFL).Which in turn support DFL city council members? Article: As he sees it, the internal affairs unit is staffed by union officers who are interested in absolving officers, not finding the truth. "Olson has been the enemy of the union," Bennett said. "The union has been the enemy of good police work in Minnesota." Current union boss Sgt. John Delmonico said that if Bennett's assertion is true, then it's Olson's fault. The federation will back the firing of any officer if the termination is rightful. Delmonico said the union has supported four of the last five firings. Response: I don't know if the internal affairs unit is staffed by officers, however, some people do not have much faith in this unit (police investigating police hence, civil review authority). Wow, union has supported four of the last five firings. Are the four officers still on the force? Article: Where Olson has failed, Delmonico said, is in improving the diversity of the force, which is supposed to help bring together the police and the community. As Minneapolis becomes more diverse, the force has failed to fully reflect the change. Olson said that increasing the number of minority police officers has been difficult in large part because the department is fighting layoffs, not hiring. Response: I had no ideal Sgt. Delmonico cared so much about diversity. Maybe, learning how the Mpls fire department achieved this effort might also work for the Mpls police department. Shawn Lewis, Field Neighborhood -- __________________________________________________________ Sign-up for your own personalized E-mail at Mail.com http://www.mail.com/?sr=signup CareerBuilder.com has over 400,000 jobs. Be smarter about your job search http://corp.mail.com/careers REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
