![Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo left, listened as north side community members held a protest and rally at the 4th precinct on Plymouth avenue in response to the shooting death of Thurman Blevins by Minneapolis Police Sunday June 24, 2018 in Minneapolis , MN. ] JERRY HOLT • jerry.holt@startribune.com](https://talkingpointsmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/GettyImages-1156780791.jpg?w=804)
Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo announced on Wednesday the immediate withdrawal of his force from contract negotiations with the police union.
The chief said at a press conference on Wednesday that his department’s contract with the Police Officers Federation demanded restructuring to provide the transparency and “flexibility needed for true reform.” A review of the contract would look at issues such as critical incident protocols, use of force and disciplinary protocols, including for grievances and arbitration, he said.
“This is not about officers’ wages, bonuses or salaries,” Arradondo said.
Arradondo’s decision follows the proposal of a package of police reforms put forth by congressional Democrats on Monday and the emotional testimony of George Floyd’s brother regarding the police killing of his brother by Minneapolis police to the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.
In his view, the ties to a union that allows an officer to be back on the force and patrolling the streets impeded the ability of police chiefs to terminate officers with a record of misconduct.
The police chief also proposed the use of real-time data that could alert supervisors to problematic behavior by officers so that supervisors could intervene more quickly.
The reforms Arradondo announced, symbolize a fresh wave of efforts from officers within his force to transform the relationship between people of color and the police amid global anti-racism and police brutality protests.
Arradondo — a black officer raised in the city he now is charged with protecting — lamented that the issue of race has long plagued the profession of law enforcement.
“Communities of color have paid the heaviest of costs,” Arradondo said, “and that is with their lives.”
In a tweet on Wednesday following Arradondo’s remarks, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, applauded Arradondo’s decision.
Addtl accountability between the people & police needs to be matched with internal ability to closely monitor police behavior & intervene early to prevent more tragedy. I applaud the Chief’s courage, his resolve to challenge the status quo, & clear message for the people of MPLS.
— Mayor Jacob Frey (@MayorFrey) June 10, 2020
Thank Chauvin. No really!! Thanks!! Your actions have finally helped the citizens of Minneapolis.
Does this mean you are turning into a Chauvinist?
All this talk of reform is probably a waste of time. What would work and well is to separate the police pensions from the general state employee fund. And pay all court settlements and fines derived from Police abuse out that fund. Cops themselves will get rid of abusive cops in no time. Or they can pay the insurance premium out of that fund. Let them have some skin in the game like wingnuts like to say.
I live in Michigan, strong union territory, and have been a union member myself in the past. My mother-in-law was a nurse for GM for many years, and she tells stories of guys who got injured on the job, completely intoxicated, but they “couldn’t” get fired (one guy was hammered and sleeping up in the ceiling, when the support gave way and he came crashing down).
Union membership and the “protections” that come with it are supposed to be a privilege, and if you screw up, you lose chump. Unions have never policed themselves they way they should, it should be incumbent upon them to weed out the bad apples, for the sake of the union itself.
ANY union that protects workers who have committed serious misconduct is literally killing itself, but it happens (even with the teachers union, which I was a member of). This is the same type of shit that caused the UAW to lose credibility over the past 25 years (that and massive wholesale corruption). Everyone in Michigan can tell you a story about some jerkoff who committed some sort of major misconduct on the job, but wasn’t fired or was “rehired.”
The ability to discipline and remove workers is even more important when talking about law enforcement (which, for reasons I can’t explain, seems to attract people who are into violence!) I believe in labor unions, but they really have no one to blame for their demise than themselves. There needs to be an effort to fast-track removal of officers who aren’t interested in upholding the “peace.” This seems like a step in the right direction.