Criminal Justice & Policing
Assistant chief Huffman assigned to work on coming consent decree
Minneapolis Assistant Police Chief Amelia Huffman has a new assignment: working with the city attorney's office on pending consent decrees with the state and federal government.
Walz budget would expand the state crime bureau, even as crime falls
Gov. Tim Walz’s proposed budget would fund a major expansion of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension with a 66% budget increase and 51 new employees. Photo by Tony Webster.
A felon found a gun and turned it in. He could go to prison for it.
When Steven Cooper found a gun and ammunition in the Chevy Blazer his brother gave him, he did what he thought was the right thing. He wrapped the gun in a sweatshirt, put it inside the secured door of his apartment building, and waited for his parole officer to show up. As a felon for […]
Woman says MPD officer told her Black Lives Matter is a terrorist organization
More than two years after an elderly Minneapolis woman filed a complaint against a Minneapolis police sergeant who told her Black Lives Matter is a terrorist organization that should be wiped off the face of the Earth, he doesn't appear to have been disciplined and still works for MPD.
Pandemic stress, gangs and utter fear fueled a rise in teen shootings
Diego never imagined he’d carry a gun. Not as a child, when shots were fired outside his Chicago-area home. Not at age 12, when one of his friends was gunned down. Diego’s mind changed at 14, when he and his friends were getting ready to walk to midnight Mass for the feast of Our Lady […]
Bill aimed at stemming tide of PTSD police retirements prompts heated debate about police
Minnesota lawmakers are considering a bill aimed at stemming the tide of police officers retiring early due to post-traumatic stress disorder, contributing to a police staffing shortage.
DFL pushes legislation to make Minnesota criminal justice system more rehabilitative, less punitive
Democratic lawmakers are pushing bills to make the criminal justice system more rehabilitative and less punitive. One bill would allow state prisoners to be released earlier by not engaging in misconduct and participating in programming. Another would limit the conditions under which a person can be convicted of aiding and abetting two types of felony murder. And a third bill would free thousands of Minnesotans from lengthy terms of probation.
Secretary of state recounts harassment of election workers; promotes protections in bill
Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said election officials were harassed, intimidated and threatened in Minnesota during the 2022 election, and the state needs a law protecting election workers. Simon supports a bill dubbed the Election Worker Protection Act (HF635) that would ban intimidation of election officials, interference with their work and tampering with election equipment.
MPD officer threatened to arrest YouTube journalist filming Laura Ingraham interview
When an independent journalist tried to film Fox News personality Laura Ingraham as she interviewed two Minneapolis police officers last year, the officers threatened to arrest him or put up police tape to keep him away from the sidewalk and alley where they were doing the interview.
Minneapolis man says Hennepin County didn’t disclose key evidence 24 years ago
Nearly 24 years after being convicted of murder for the shooting, Kawaskii Blanche, 49, says Hennepin County prosecutors did not disclose to his attorney a three-hour interrogation with Scott about two months after the shooting — which he argues is a violation of constitutional rights and grounds for a new trial. He has long maintained his innocence.
Bill would make cops get treatment before retiring early due to PTSD
Minnesota lawmakers are considering action this session to stem the deluge of cops retiring early due to post-traumatic stress disorder.
Democrats propose repealing law against knowingly exposing someone to HIV
Five Minnesota House Democrats are proposing eliminating the law that makes it a crime to knowingly expose someone to HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases. The lawmakers’ bill (HF267) would repeal a 1995 law that allows prosecutors to charge someone who “knowingly harbors an infectious agent” and engages in behaviors that could transfer it to […]