With Minneapolis hiring a new chief of police and community safety commissioner, the city appears to be making an effort to increase safety and make a comeback. But part of being safe includes a new level of accountability for the MPD.
Minneapolis City Councilmember Michael Rainville joined News Talk 830 WCCO’s Chad Hartman to discuss what he sees going on in the city.
Rainville shared that he supports the new oversight structure for the Minneapolis Police Department presented in a new ordinance. Part of the structure would see a board made up of city officials and community members who would work to field complaints and other matters.
“The people of Minneapolis should be very grateful for this ordinance,” Rainville said. “Is it absolutely 100% perfect? No. It will be modified. It will be changed. But it’s a great start to a new level of accountability for the police.”
The changes, Rainville says, would help residents of Minneapolis understand the new way of policing being done in the city and be able to get in contact with new police chief Brian O’Hara and community safety commissioner Cedric Alexander.
Part of the reason why some were opposed to the new board was that members would be selected instead of elected. While he understand the grip, Rainville says, “you can’t have elections for everything.”
He explained that to earn a nomination to the board, potential members would have to go through a rigorous approval process.
“I understand that there are community members who want to have representation on this board, and it would behoove them to strengthen their relationship with both the council and the mayor's office and get themselves appointed to it,” Rainville said.
While currently, some remain skeptical of the process and how the board will function, Rainville asks the public to be patient. He added that not everything is finalized and that the council is “open to making changes” when needed.
“If and when those changes need to be made, they’ll be made quickly, and they’ll be well debated,” Rainville said.
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