ROUND TABLE POLICE FORUM

The meeting opened with a welcome and we began a round of introductions. Attendees stood up, said their names and answered the question, “why are you here?” One by one, people gaveInline image 1 passionate answers like justice, to have a police force that protects and serves everyone, and to stop police brutality. Tiffany,* sitting in the back of the room, stands to introduce herself to the group and answer the question. She tells the group a story about how her 15 year old brother was beaten by the police without provocation. She tells another story about how after an officer witnessed her jaywalking, was handcuffed, put in the back of a police car, and driven to school where the officer searched her in front of her peers. Her brother asked “is this the procedure for someone who has jaywalked.” Tiffany describes this as the most humiliating experience of her life.

On Wednesday, March 2nd, community members met for the second time to discuss the selection of a new police chief and the changes they would like to see in the Saint Paul Police Department. Tiffany, along with the rest of the attendees, were less concerned about the resumes of potential police chief candidates and more about the systems and polices that allow these behaviors to continue. Stories like Tiffany’s are not new to the East Side. For some, this leadership change provides an opportunity to have their voices heard; to request that the new police chief hear their concerns and take action.

 

As this group cast a vision for a community and police department that works together, questions arose about how the new police chief fits into that vision. Can a police chief be an agent of change Inline image 1in the St. Paul Police Department? Will they set the Saint Paul Police Department on a new course that meets the challenges of a changing community or will they merely reiterate the rhetoric of inclusion while maintaining systems of oppression? Many say that the police chief “sets the tone” of a police department. With the SPPD paying up to $1 million a year in misconduct settlements, what is the use of a shift in tone without the systems to adequately hold accountable the “bad apples.” How do we root the SPPD in a culture that no longer produces such rotten fruit?

The group created a list of recommendations that will be delivered to the selection committee.  That list will be published to the DBCC website in the coming days.

*Name has been changed to protect the privacy of this participant.