COMMUNITY REJECTS SELECTION OF BILL PETERSON AS NEXT MPD CHIEF

In a largely secretive process that excluded the opinions of much of the community, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has nominated interim police chief Bill Peterson to become the next MPD chief.

Peterson has a long list of complaints, including several complaints the city has refused to release in response to a data request that is over a year old.  In addition, he was part of the Metro Gang Strike Force that was disbanded in 2009 for widespread corruption, theft and violations of people’s civil rights.

Peterson was also one of the Minneapolis police officers who broke the law by using the DMV database to view the picture and personal data of former law enforcement officer Anne Marie Rasmusson, for which she won a $1 million lawsuit in 2012.

The city is still dealing with the fall out from a former police chief who was under investigation for engaging in inappropriate conduct with his employees. Does it make sense to appoint an individual who looked up a female officer for nefarious reasons?

“The most important job of any leader is to shape the culture of the organization they lead.  This is especially true for the Minneapolis Police Department, which is under a legally-binding consent decree after a long history of racially biased policing,” stated Michelle Gross, President of Communities United Against Police Brutality.  She added, “Bill Peterson is steeped in the same old culture that led to the murder of George Floyd.  His history of complaints and misconduct make it clear that he is not the leader we need.”

The city is in a significant budget crisis, fueled largely by police overspending. Yet, the funds used to hire a search committee to secure candidates for the Minneapolis Police Chief position were squandered by Mayor Frey, who should have made it clear from the onset that the role needed to be filled by a change agent from outside of the department.  Instead, he rushed to nominate a poorly-qualified internal candidate.  Unless the City Council pushes back against this choice, the community will be stuck with yet another chief who will continue the MPD’s business as usual of overspending and racist, brutal policing.