Link= <http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/4250079.html>http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/4250079.html
A former high school honor student is close to a $180,000 settlement of her brutality lawsuit against Minneapolis police for a beating she said occurred while she was returning from a youth park event.
Good story, not a good comment by CM Barb Johnson.
Well it's a well reported story - but I wouldn't call this "good news" - since this settlement is pretty high. Here's the problematic comment.
Committee Chairwoman Barbara Johnson said she probably will vote against the offer. Asked why, she said only, "It appears we have a family business going."
Freeman's aunt, Alisa Clemons, a former Minneapolis police officer, won two six-figure discrimination suits against the department. The second required that she resign. Flowers recently claimed he was roughed up by police outside the Urban League in north Minneapolis and has threatened to file suit.
Lawyer Donna Roback, who represented Clemons and now represents Freeman, called the family business comment repugnant. "It's the Police Department's conduct that is reprehensible, and the settlement speaks to that," Roback said. "Shyanna Freeman was walking home minding her own business, and it was Gary Nelson who came out of nowhere and beat her up."
The City pages has an interview with the chair of the civilian review authority:
http://www.citypages.com/databank/24/1200/article11723.asp
CP: What is your sense of tensions between police and minorities in the city? How volatile are they?
Friedman: I do feel that there are two cities going on. It's not an original thought; there are City Council people who have talked about that. And it's not an accident that the City Council people who think policing is a problem happen to represent certain districts and the ones who think it isn't a problem reflect an entirely different demographic.
There's no question that the community thinks of the police as an adversary. There's this attitude that, "No, that's just Staten and Moss and other people trying to politicize issues," and I don't think that's true. I've talked to many, many people who are not in any way part of the political process.
Personally, I get tired of handing out a list of civil lawyers and saying, "Here, file a lawsuit." That's basically where things have been at in Minneapolis. Okay, now you can take it to court. Whether someone wins or loses in civil court, I don't consider it justice. My own personal belief is that not everything can be turned into a monetary equation. And in theory, if you sue the city enough times, the city takes steps to address that and shield it from further civil liability.
EY: I've been wondering lately whether the St Paul police are worse than the MPD on dealing with Gays and Lesbians (witness the recent incident where a St Paul Police officer is alleged to have beaten up a number of patrons at a Lesbian bar), while the Minneapolis Police have a worse record on police brutality when it comes to racial minorities.
If this is just a "family business" as Barb Johnson said - how is it that the settlement proposed is so high? This would suggest the city lawyers are totally incompetent.
Eva Young
Near North
Minneapolis
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Blog is up:
http://lloydletta.blogspot.com
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