- There was a problem and continues to be a problem of excessive force in this community. I'm not going to deny that. I grew up here.
- - Minneapolis Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton, 1994
As crime in Minneapolis is perceived as more serious and its police department has been confronted with more violent criminals, some observers claim it has overreacted to the crime threat by at times harassing members of minority groups and committing abuses. When Police Chief Robert K. Olson took over the 960-member force in 1995, he emphasized respect for human rights and made clear he would not tolerate abuses by police officers. He set out a disciplinary matrix, allowing officers to know exactly what to expect if they break the rules, and he emphasized that sergeants and lieutenants were responsible for knowing about, and appropriately dealing with, officers who commit abuses. As a result, he has earned high marks among police abuse experts in the city, although his department's record has not been perfect.1
Minneapolis's police force has a history of using excessive force. Said former police chief Tony Bouza (1980-88): "Police will abuse their power....They feel themselves leashed. They want to be free to `thump,' free to handle assholes. When someone gives them lip, they want to be able to kick their ass[es], and when you don't let them, they feel shackled. I do not let them [the police officers] `handle' assholes."2 Bouza says the force was "damn brutal, a bunch of thumpers," when he took over as chief in 1980.3 Bouza was followed as chief by John Laux, who made fighting the crack-cocaine trade a priority. In officers' zeal to pursue drug traffickers, raids were sometimes conducted on the wrong houses. In a mistaken raid in January 1989, a stun grenade - designed for use in hostage situations - caused a fire at an elderly African-American couple's home, killing them.4 Gleason Gloverof the Urban League stated at the time: "The whole issue of police brutality is nothing new to the city of Minneapolis. It almost gives the impression that if you are black and poor, it doesn't really matter if you lose your life. The police did not say `we are sorry.' There was no remorse at all! It was just a cold thing. It happened, that's the way it is sometimes. I hate to say this, but I just don't see that happening to a white couple."5 Just after the botched raid, there was a police raid at a hotel where black college students were having a party, and party-goers were reportedly roughed up by officers. The minority community (African-Americans, Native Americans, Latinos and Asians made up about 14 percent of the city's population in the early 1990s) demanded improved accountability for the police, leading to the creation of the Civilian Police Review Authority (CRA) in 1990, as described below.
1 To his credit, Chief Olson agreed to be interviewed by Human Rights Watch. He was the only head of fourteen police departments who responded directly to our interview request.
2 "Drug Enforcement in Minority Communities: The Minneapolis Police Department," Police Executive Research Forum/National Institute of Justice, 1994, p. 7. Hereinafter PERF study.
© June 1998
Human Rights Watch