Minnesota House POCI Caucus
PRESS RELEASE
Minnesota House of Representatives
State Office Building, St. Paul, MN 55155
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Lindy Sowmick
989-289-8593 or lindy.sowmick@house.mn
April 27, 2022
POCI Caucus statement on Human Rights Department findings of racial discrimination within MPD
SAINT PAUL, MN - On April 27, the Minnesota Department of Human Rights announced the findings from its investigation into the City of Minneapolis and Minneapolis Police Department.
Per the report, the Department found that there is probable cause that the City and MPD engage in a pattern or practice of race discrimination in violation of the Minnesota Human Rights Act, the state’s civil rights law.
The POCI Caucus released the following joint statement:
“The official finding that the Minneapolis Police Department exhibits a pattern of harmful racial discrimination is unsurprising and disappointing. Particularly upsetting is the finding that MPD treats Black, Indigenous, and people of color differently at all levels, from who they choose to stop in traffic to who they choose to use force against. We deserve better from the police department that works for the people in the biggest city in this state, and we’re glad that our Minnesota Human Rights Department is now taking on leadership in executing the changes we need within the city.
“It is reprehensible that the Minneapolis Police Department was using state-funded dollars to surveil community advocacy groups like the NAACP. This is a further breach of the public trust.
“The Minneapolis Police Department maintains a culture where officers consistently use racist, misogynistic, and disrespectful language and are rarely held accountable. We need to hold them accountable. We hope that our communities will join us in pushing for the common sense accountability measures outlined in the House Public Safety and Criminal Justice Reform bill that will be heard on the floor on Friday. These measures will protect our communities from further harm at the hands of police departments like the Minneapolis Police Department.
“When the law fails our communities of color, we will work to change the law.”
The House People of Color & Indigenous (POCI) Caucus includes Reps. Esther Agbaje (Chair, 59B), Jamie Becker-Finn (42B), Cedrick Frazier (45A), Aisha Gomez (62B), Hodan Hassan (62A), Kaohly Her (64A), Athena Hollins (Chair, 66B), Fue Lee (59A), Carlos Mariani (65B), Rena Moran (65A), Mohamud Noor (60B), Ruth Richardson (52B), Samantha Vang (40B), Jay Xiong (67B), Tou Xiong (53A)
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