More than 21 years after partnering to help improve relations between the community and police, the NAACP and St. Paul Police Department met Tuesday to define new terms for their agreement.
"This agreement represents everybody in the city of St. Paul," said Richard Pittman Sr., president of the St. Paul NAACP Roy Wilkins branch. "We're one more step towards a great level of accountability, and a stronger working relationship, between the police and the community."
The agreement between the NAACP and St. Paul police was first signed in 2001. By establishing rules to prohibit racial profiling, review officer conduct, and include more citizen voices, the agreement is meant to improve the relationship between police and city residents — 44% of whom are people of color.
But a lot has changed since 2001, and Mayor Melvin Carter said years of discussion led to revising the agreement so that it better reflects the 21st century.
"Communities make a mistake, make a tragic mistake, when we ask our officers to try to solve all of our challenges by themselves," Carter said. "We'll always have more work to do, because anyone who's ever been in any relationship knows that the work of building and rebuilding trust is just never over."
Changes to the agreement include:
- Quarterly meetings between the SPPD and the NAACP.
- Annual reports to the NAACP about disciplinary actions, the acquisition and use of military equipment, and demographics of SPPD officers and academy class members.
- Release of body camera footage from fatal police shootings (when requested by the NAACP).
The agreement also codifies SPPD's policy to serve no-knock search warrants only when someone's life or safety is threatened. Carter said that St. Paul police have not served such warrants in years. Minneapolis instituted reforms to its policy after its police officers killed Amir Locke while executing a no-knock search warrant in February.
Tuesday's announcement comes a day after St. Paul's search committee selected five finalists for the Police Department's next chief. Four of the finalists already work for the department, and the St. Paul Police Historical Society said only two candidates from outside the city have been picked for the job in the past 100 years. Jeremy Ellison, who was selected as the interim chief after Todd Axtell's retirement, previously announced that he would not apply for the permanent role.
Residents can meet finalists through two public forums hosted by the city. The first is at 6 p.m. Oct. 11 in the Washington Technology Magnet School. The second forum is at 11:30 a.m. Oct. 12 in the St. Paul Event Center. The forums are free, and will be livestreamed on the city's Facebook page. Residents can submit feedback and interview questions to mayor@ci.stpaul.mn.us.
Carter's office hopes to decide who will be chief of police in "the next several weeks," but said his office will be patient in making a selection.
"Our goal isn't to rush things," Carter said. "My friends in the trades always say, 'measure twice, cut once.' And that's our plan."
