Although city leaders are quick to say race relations are improving within the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD), there is evidence that there is more work to be done.
In the four-part series, "The Informant," last week, the Star Tribune documented a two-year MPD/FBI investigation of police corruption. Star Tribune investigative reporters Tony Kennedy and Paul McEnroe produced a unique, inside look at allegations that officers were accepting bribes. It was a troubling report.
Though the series stopped short of conclusions on guilt or innocence, the investigation confirmed that the department has continued to struggle with race relations in the ranks.
The department and FBI began looking into the allegations in late 2006. But by the end of 2007, five African-American officers, including three who were being investigated in the corruption case, had filed a discrimination suit against Chief Tim Dolan and the city. They weren't just any cops. The plaintiffs, all promoted officers, were Lts. Lee Edwards, Don Harris and Medaria Arradondo and Sgts. Charles Adams and Dennis Hamilton.
Adams sued for defamation and was awarded $85,000 in November 2007. Then, on April 10, a settlement paying the five officers a total of $740,000 was announced.
It wasn't the first time race has been an issue for the department, straining community relations and dividing the department internally. Officers have filed discrimination suits, and community leaders have criticized the department's hiring and promotion record for officers of color. And over the years the city has settled several brutality and excessive-force lawsuits with citizens in which race was an issue.
Typically the city settles and admits no guilt. When the five officers filed their suit, we argued that it might be good to have a full court hearing of the issues. That would have given the court and the public an opportunity to hear the facts. The settlement will prevent that kind of transparency.
Nor will the public likely ever know the real facts of the corruption investigation. The feds dropped the probe against most of the officers. An independent Anoka County attorney's investigation declined to bring charges in the case, saying one informant's information was "innocuous at best." The only federal charges were against Roberts for taking two $100 payments from a gang member. Pretty small potatoes for an internal and FBI probe lasting years.
Some close to the case believe the investigation was tainted by the department's internal racial issues. That would fit the pattern. How can law enforcement credibly deal with external communities of color when it can't handle its own racial affairs?
In 2003, the department reached a landmark mediation agreement with citizens that included about 100 action items on use of force, race and diversity issues, including a strong emphasis on officer training. Since then, the city says it has made progress, while some community members still complain of limited follow-through by the department.
The Star Tribune's series detailed how racial issues appeared to have affected an important corruption investigation. It also revealed that the Minneapolis Police Department has more work to do to get its internal house in order.
