The police department of any city is in desperate need of oversight from elected officials. It's the mayor's job to ride herd on the cops. The inclination for all chiefs is to protect the blue code even as the federations take potshots at him/her. It's disingenuous to suggest that police chiefs be given free rein to manage without oversight. Oversight is not micromanagement. The record is so replete with abuse that the only accountable people in government are elected officials. Minneapolis cops are among the most abusive in the country. They must be corralled and set straight. A badge is not a license for assaulting "civilians."
Andy Driscoll Saint Paul -------- > From: Ed Fesler <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Date: Fri, 19 Dec 2003 07:32:07 -0800 (PST) > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: MPD: Mpls Mayor wants to micro-manage police dept; 1 million spent > restoring glass ceiling at City Hall > > I hope the Minneapolis City Council rejects Mayor > R.T. Rybak's attempt to run the police department out > of the Mayor's office. I thought we were electing a > Mayor two years ago-not a police chief. > > I approve of most of what Rybak has done as Mayor, > but I don't like what he's trying to do to the police > department. > > Here is a Star Tribune story on the police chief > selection: > > http://startribune.com/stories/462/4276680.html > > The hand-picked advisory committee had six > candidates to choose from-two Minneapolis Deputy > Chiefs and four outside applicants. > > Two women have risen through the police ranks to > the rank of Deputy Chief-Sharon Lubinski and Lucy > Gerold. They were the two internal applicants for the > position of Police Chief. > > Of the six candidates, three were African American > men and the two Deputy Chiefs were white women. There > is one white man on the list-the Chief from Dayton, > Ohio. > > According to WCCO, the candidate Rybak really wants > is the white guy. > > Maybe the real unspoken question the committee > asked was "are you willing to be the Mayor's boy?" > > No African-American man will permit such a thing. > Lubinski and Gerold have never been boys. > > The Minneapolis Police Federation is a labor union > that does a very good job representing the views and > attitudes of rank-and-file cops. Many liberals and > critics of the police don't like the Police > Federation. > > The Police Federation would rather have a woman as > Police Chief than another outsider. Most of the Police > Chiefs over the last twenty years have been outsiders > with an adversarial attitude toward the rest of the > department. > > What is the evidence that Mayor Rybak wants to > micro-manage the Police Department? > > First, Rybak tried to force Chief Olson out. Then > Rybak tried to muzzle the police department and > rank-and-file cops by centralizing communications in > City Hall. All communications with the media were > supposed to go through the City Hall office. > > If the police department is going to be run by > politicians instead of run by cops maybe we should > change the city charter to make the police chief an > elected position. > > An even better solution might be to elect a new > mayor. How about Sharon Lubinski or Lucy Gerold for > mayor? > > The City Council should hold its ground and insist > on one of the Deputy Chiefs. R.T. Rybak needs to stop > trying to run the police department himself. > > Is there really a glass ceiling at City Hall? > > Yes-and they spent a million dollars to restore it! > > Here is the Pioneer Press story on the restoration > of the stained glass windows in the City Hall rotunda: > > http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/7525841.htm > > > Ed Fesler [EMAIL PROTECTED] Minneapolis > > > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > New Yahoo! Photos - easier uploading and sharing. > http://photos.yahoo.com/ > > MN-POLITICS-DISCUSS http://www.e-democracy.org/mn-politics/ is a CIVIL > discussion of Minnesota public issues and politics. > ----------------------- > > > **** Don't like E-Democracy's rules? You have alternatives: > http://www.e-democracy.org/mninteract **** > ---------------------------- > > Messages (text-only, no attachments) are to be signed with your full real > name, city and e-mail address. No member may post more than twice a day. > > Moderator/Discussion Rules Manager: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > --------- > To unsubscribe to MN-Politics-Discuss send a blank email to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To receive daily digest: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > For the list to retain its value, and to show respect for your fellow list > members, please keep a Minnesota focus on your posts. Thanks. > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > To visit your group on the web, go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mn-politics-discuss/ > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > > 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. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ 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
