Nineteenth century •
March 9, 1867: In response to a request from the mayor of Minneapolis for a police force, on March 9, 1867, four officers were appointed to the Minneapolis Police Department. The MPD was established shortly after the end of the
American Civil War (1861 – 1865), an internal war pitting the
northern United States against the
southern United States —the
Confederacy—primarily fought over
the enslavement of black people. The
Dakota War which was part of the
Sioux Wars and the American Civil War, had ended in 1862. At that time, the population of Minneapolis was about 5,000. •
1867–1917: In the early years newly elected mayors would fire MPD officers and replace them with "friends, family, and their supporters," according to Fossum's 1996
History of the Minneapolis Police Department. •
1892: The first Minnesota African-American police officer was James H. Burrell, who joined the St. Paul Police Department in 1892.
Twentieth century •
January 7, 1901:
A. A. Ames (1842 – 1911) began his final term as mayor of Minneapolis. He appointed his brother, Colonel Fred W. Ames as chief of police and a former gambler, Norman W. King as detective. The Minneapolis Police force was transformed into Ames' army. The police would put pressure on criminal organizations and Ames' people would take money from various criminal activities in the city all with the knowledge of local citizens. •
April 1902: A grand jury was drawn composed of "unselected citizens" with Hovey C. Clarke, local businessman, as foreman. They "received no special instructions from the bench" and the county prosecutor put only routine work before the grand jury. Working-class immigrants and whites felt that their jobs were threatened, as large numbers of newly arrived African Americans from the
South, who were part of the
Great Migration to the industrial
North, competed for the lower-grade jobs. Historian Michael Fossum, described the MPD in 1917 as 300 officers "without training exerting control over 300,000." deputized the private army which the
Citizens' Alliance had formed. They were armed with bayonets and rifle against the strikers. The Alliance army was supported by the local police. In a 1903 address at the Minneapolis Commercial Club, David M. Parry, the first president of the Citizens' Industrial Alliance, The Federation became part of the
American Federation of Labor. •
June 20, 1922: An ad in the
Minnesota Messenger announced a "Citizens Meeting For Public Safety" at the Elks’ Hall on June 25 inviting "the clergy and all prominent Negroes." The headline read "Negroes Protest against Police Atrocities in the City." By 1922, "popular support for the Ku Klux Klan was surging" in Minneapolis. •
1920s:
Hennepin County, Minnesota jurors were "essentially creatures" of the Citizens Alliance. Grand jurors were selected from a list of 200, that had been provided by district court judges. CCA members and their wives predominated. They injured 67 picketers and killing two strikers, John Belor and Henry Ness. The MPD had allegedly "mobilized 700 private citizens and confronted thousands of striking truck drivers. as chair of a 12-person committee to choose a new police chief who would "act decisively against organized crime, enforce the law evenly, bring down the high rate of crime and juvenile delinquency, and reform the corrupt police department." During his mayoral campaign he had promised "action on civil rights." As mayor, he started sending police officers to the University of Minnesota for training in what was then called "human relations." In August, MPD officers "arrested, jailed and interrogated" two black women who had refused to comply with police orders for men to "produce their draft cards" and for women to "open up their purses" at Dreamland Café. She contacted
Spokesman-Recorders founder, editor and publisher,
Cecil Newman. Newman contacted Hubert Humphrey, the newly elected mayor of Minneapolis who had promised "action on civil rights," Newman had was Humphrey's friend and had supported his bid for election. Across the United States, the most destructive riots of the summer of 1967 took place in July, in
Newark, New Jersey, and
Detroit, Michigan. There were riots in July 1967 in Minneapolis and Birmingham, Chicago, New York City,
Milwaukee, Minneapolis, New Britain, Rochester,
Plainfield, and Toledo. The 1968
Kerner Commission report, which had been ordered by then President
Lyndon B. Johnson said that in their "investigation of the 1967 riot cities establishes that virtually every major episode of violence was foreshadowed by an accumulation of unresolved grievances and by widespread dissatisfaction among Negroes with the unwillingness or inability of local government to respond. Overcoming these conditions is essential for community support of law enforcement and civil order." •
1971: When
W. Harry Davis (1923–2006)—a civil rights leader and activist, who had served on the "Minneapolis school board for 20 years, and founded the Minneapolis Urban Coalition"—ran for mayor of Minneapolis, his "house was observed by uniformed police officers 24 hours a day." •
1975: Minneapolis City Council established a "civil rights commission to investigate civilian discrimination complaints". •
1980–1989:
Tony Bouza served for three terms as MDP chief of police.
Donald Fraser, who was mayor of Minneapolis from 1980 until 1994,. responded to scandals that took place during the tenure of then Police Chief Elmer C. Nordlund (1978–79). Fraser hired Bouza, who was an "outsider", as a reformer and Bouza "frequently butted heads with members of the Minneapolis force". In his 2013 book—''
Expert Witness: Breaking the Policemen's Blue Code of Silence, Bouza share stories of "alleged deceit, misconduct and corruption" by what he described as the "2-percenters"—the "misfits in every agency I have worked," that he described as the "thumpers, grafters, malingerers, psychos, alcoholics, women beaters, and bullies." He focused his "reform efforts" on the 2-percenters and apologized to the 98 percenters—the police officers who "try to do their job" and who are at times, "heroic and brilliant." He resigned in 1994 to join the Bloomington Police Department. In the summer of 1994, following a "series of racial incidents involving Minneapolis police officers," Laux told a Star Tribune reporter'' that he was having difficulty understanding "what prompted so much crazy behavior by so many officers in such a short period of time." Incidents included "an altercation between an officer and black college students at a motel," and a "botched drug raid that killed an older black couple." The men who killed him had allegedly been "looking for revenge against the Minneapolis Police Department." They received life sentences. A September 9, 2002 Minnesota Public Radio report in Haaf's memory, said that "Haaf's killing came during a low point in police-minority relations at home and nationally." The incident was videotaped and widely shared in TV broadcasts. At the time of Haaf's killing, gangs in Minneapolis were trading "gunfire daily" and "rumors of Minneapolis police misconduct were rampant." The creation of the 2002
Guide was funded by a grant from the
United States Department of Justice's (DOJ) Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS). The Chief of the Minneapolis Police Department, Robert Olson, Pat Hughes and the Minneapolis Police Civilian Review Authority (CRA) staff members, as well Minneapolis Mediation Program mediators participated in the development of the
Guide. •
1994–2002:
Robert Olson served as
Chief of the MPD until his dismissal through federal mediation in 2002. •
1999: John Delmonico served as president of the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis (the Federation) from 1999 to 2015, representing the "city's rank-and-file officers."
Twenty-first century •
2001: Communities United Against Police Brutality (CUAPB), which was established, was critical of the 2003 Mediation Agreement between the City of Minneapolis and federal mediators, who had come together to "discuss police misconduct." Initially, the city refused to do so in spite of the Jordan riot. •
2002:
William McManus began his terms as MPD chief of police. He resigned in 2006 when he joined the
San Antonio Police Department. • March 2002: A MPD police officer shot and killed a "machete-wielding Somali man." • Over 41,593 inmates were book by the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office. • Five African-American police officers, including Medaria Arradondo, who had served as a MPD officer since 1989, starting in the Fourth Precinct to become inspector for the First Precinct, sued the department alleging discrimination in promotions, pay, and discipline, and won. The city settled for $740,000. •
2009: West St. Paul Police Chief
Bud Shaver was chairman of the Metro Gang Strike Force Advisory Board. They submitted their final annual report in February 2009. •
May 20: The Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA) submitted their
Metro Gang Strike Force Special Review. •
May: Former attorney general
Andrew Luger and former FBI agent
John Egelhof were tasked by Michael Campion, Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety, to form a review panel on the Metro Gang Strike Force (MGSF) in response to the negative May 20, 2009 OLA review. • Issues identified by the Minnesota
Office of Justice Programs (OJP) staff, the Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA) and the Luger-Egelhof Report were addressed by the Gang and Drug Oversight Council ("Council"). •
2010: A Minneapolis police officer's
body-worn camera (BWC) captured evidence that raised concerns that 28-year old David Smith had died of suffocation during a struggle with MPD officers, that took place at the downtown YMCA in 2010. Smith had a history of mental illness. Smith's family's lawyers—the Minneapolis law firm of Gaskins Bennett Birrell Schupp—successfully sued Minneapolis for $3.075 million in 2013, the "second-largest for police misconduct" in the history of Minneapolis. The officers used the "controversial" police technique called "
prone restraint" or "positional asphyxia", in which officers "forced Smith onto his stomach, then placed a knee in his back and held him down for about four minutes, which the family attorneys said made it impossible for him to breathe." •
October The Office of Police Conduct Review (OPCR), a division within the Minneapolis Department of Civil Rights began a process of investigating cases where police have allegedly violated MPD policy, such as "use of excessive force, inappropriate language or attitude, harassment, and discrimination." of a "north-side gang" and questioned if this "could incite gang violence in the city?" •
2015: In Minneapolis, the "duty to intervene" policy was enacted as one of the police reforms introduced following the 2015 police shooting of Clark. In response, there were protests by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and also called for a federal investigation. •
November 15, 2015: Two MPD officers, Mark Ringgenberg and Dustin Schwarze were involved in the shooting death of
Jamar Clark, a 24-year-old African-American man who died as a result of the shooting. Ringgenberg and Schwarze were placed on paid
administrative leave. In response to Clark's death,
Black Lives Matter organized protests outside the Fourth Precinct police station that lasted for 18 days, as well as other protests and demonstrations in and around Minneapolis. Kroll, as the newly elected president of the Police Officers Federation, criticized the way in which Mayor
Betsy Hodges and Chief
Janeé Harteau handled the protests. Kroll defended the officers' actions during the shooting, adding that they had no previous disciplinary issues. •
2016: By 2016, the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis had approximately 800 members and Kroll was president. •
July 5: Police officer shot and killed
Philando Castile after pulling over his car. The St. Anthony police officer, Jeronimo Yanez, was acquitted of manslaughter. •
March 30: Hennepin County Attorney
Mike Freeman announced that no charges would be filed against Ringgenberg and Schwarze. Freeman said that cases concerning officer-involved shootings would no longer be heard before grand juries. Minneapolis activist, Tyrone Williams "helped coordinate the 18-day occupation of Minneapolis' Fourth Precinct police station" in 2015. •
2017: Medaria Arradondo began his term as Chief of MPD, who is a fifth-generation Minnesota resident, is the first African American to serve as chief of the Minneapolis Police Department. It was during his tenure that the use of officer body camera became mandatory •
mid-2017: MPD Chief Janee Harteau resigned shortly after the
shooting of Justine Damond by Mohammed Noor who was a MPD officer at the time of Damand's death. •
July 15, 2017: Officer-involved shooting •
2007–2017: Minneapolis "paid out $2.1 million" from 2007 to 2017, to "settle misconduct lawsuits involving police officers from the Third Precinct station in south Minneapolis. •
2018: Staff report on Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) involvement in pre-hospital sedation (2018-00754). • Office of Police Conduct Review Report on Ketamine Use • According to the
New York Times Black activists in Minneapolis released a report in 2018 that said that the "oppression of poor people and black people was baked into the very founding of the department in 1867." Police reform has roiled politics in the city for years, and politicians who have been seen as slow to reform have been defeated. But only recently have calls to dismantle the police been widely embraced by white leaders in the city. •
January: Chief Arradondo banned Philadelphia-style
tailgating during
Super Bowl LII. •
August: Arradondo ended the practice of low-level marijuana stings—"pot stings"—that allegedly targeted African Americans. •
2019 •
January:
Dave Hutchinson won in the 2018 election for Hennepin County Sheriff. His term ended January 7, 2019. He replaced
Richard W. Stanek who was Sheriff for 12 years. The Sheriff's office, which is at Minneapolis City Hall, has an annual budget of about $125 million. The Office works with "three dozen state legislators, two members of Congress and 45 city mayors" and has 840 staff members. Williams, a father of four, was the "brother of former City Council candidate and NAACP activist Raeisha Williams." •
April: In a series of texts, Mayor Betsy Hodges blocked then police Chief Janeé Harteau's decision to appoint
John Delmonico as inspector of the Fourth Precinct. Delmonico had served as President of the police union. Mayor Hodges described Delmonico as "untrustworthy" and "racist." •
November: A MPD officer of the 4th Precinct Inspector decorated a Christmas tree "with a pack of Newport cigarettes, beer cans, police tape and a cup from Popeyes fast-food chain," mocking "precinct's largely African-American population." •
November 9: officer-involved shooting •
November 30: Under Mayor
Jacob Frey, the Minneapolis City Council's Budget Committee voted 9–2 to make changes to the city's budget by shifting "$1 million from MPD to violence prevention and other community initiatives." •
2019 •
August 2: Officer-involved shooting •
April: Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman led the prosecution of former MPD officer Mohamed Noor who was convicted in April of the July 2017 murder and manslaughter of
Justine Ruszczyk Damond. Damond had called 911 to report a possible rape, and had approached Noor in his squad car minutes later. Damond's murder "made international headlines". •
2020 •
May •
May 25: The in-custody
murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers was clearly captured in a bystander's viral video shared globally. His murder sparked
racial justice protests which spread quickly to over 2,000 cities across the country and more than 60 countries worldwidethe scale and impact of which have been compared to the
Civil Rights movement", Against the backdrop of ongoing racial tensions and the
COVID-19 pandemic, a "perfect storm" was created, resulting in unpredented support for the
Black Lives Matter movement and demands for police reform and racial justice. •
May 26: After an "in custody death" involving MPD officers on the 3700 block of Chicago Avenue South, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) and the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office investigated. The results of their review will be examined by the Hennepin County Attorney's Office and by the FBI, which is "conducting a separate federal civil rights investigation at the request of the Minneapolis Police Department." •
May 27: Texts and e-mails obtained from Minneapolis by the
Minnesota Star Tribune through public records requests in August 2020, show Minneapolis Mayor
Jacob Frey called Minnesota Governor
Tim Walz on May 27 to request the National Guard to assist the municipality, after peaceful protests evolved into a dangerous situation, resulting in extensive damage to private property. The office of the Governor said these initial phone calls from the Mayor's office were insufficient, as the activation of the National Guard required a detailed official written request on the part of the municipality. •
May 29: Protesters entered the MPD's Third Precinct station, which had been vacated by police. A fire destroyed the building. •
May 31: In response to
George Floyd's murder, MPD Chief Arradondo fired all four officers involved. He directly addressed the family of George Floyd, stating that his position is that all four officers involved are at fault and he was awaiting charges from the county attorney and/or FBI. •
May: In a letter to the rank and file members of the MPD union, the Federation president, Kroll, said that police officers had been made "scapegoats" and criticized the way the city's "liberal leadership" had handled the
riots caused by Floyd's murder. Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero, who will lead the investigation, said the Commission "will work with city leaders to try to make some quick changes." A potential consent decree which will be "enforced by the courts" will be part of a longer process. •
June 4: Council member Jeremiah Ellison said on Twitter that it is "past due to "dismantle" the MPD, and to "dramatically rethink how we approach public safety and emergency response." •
June 5:
The Hill reported that lawmakers
Ilhan Omar U.S. Representative representing and
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called to reduce the budgets of police departments. The
New York Times reported that a number of Minneapolis "elected officials"—including four members of City Council, "civic leaders and residents" called on the city to dismantle the MPD and "re-imagine the way policing works" in the wake of the George Floyd's murder by police and the ensuing protests. According to the New York Times, the unrest is national with many "calling" to "defund, downsize or abolish police departments." •
June 8: A temporary Hennepin County District Court court order requested by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights resulted in both the City of Minneapolis and the MPD incorporating all the changes "identified in the court order into their policies, ordinances, and procedures." This included a "complete ban, without exception, on the use of chokeholds and neck restraints." Many of the city's residents were still on edge from the
murder of George Floyd the previous May; the police department had mischaracterized Chauvin's murder of Floyd as a death following "medical distress" in early statements about the incident. Demonstrators reacting to news of a new shooting death, that video later showed was a suicide, did not trust initial police accounts of the incident. Many stores and business were looted and vandalized, and several fires were reported. Two Minneapolis police officers were seriously injured during the unrest. •
2021 •
July:
Leneal Frazier, an innocent bystander, was killed in a car crash caused by Minneapolis police officer Brian Cummings. The night of July 6, Cummings was pursuing a suspected thief at a high rate of speed when he crashed into Frazier's vehicle. Cummings faced several criminal charges for operating his vehicle negligently, and in 2023 he pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide and received nine-month prison sentence. •
2022 •
February: Following the
killing of Amir Locke, a 22-year-old
Black American man, by a member of the Minneapolis Police Department, inside his apartment while police were executing a
no-knock search warrant in a homicide investigation, of which Locke was not a suspect
Minnesota Attorney General declined to file criminal charges against the officer in their April 6, 2022 report. •
April 27: Following a two-year long state investigation, Minnesota's Department of Human Rights found that the municipal police department "engages in a pattern of race discrimination". The probe began on May 25, 2020, following the murder of George Floyd by then-Officer
Derek Chauvin, who was convicted of murder in the spring of 2021. Investigators examined "traffic stops, searches, arrests and uses of force" and reviewed police department policies and training programs. Minneapolis policing practices are also under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. Mayor Jacob Frey said the report's findings were "repugnant" and "horrific" and evoked "outrage". •
November •
November 3: In a unanimous vote, the
Minneapolis City Council confirmed the appointment of
Brian O'Hara as Chief of Police succeeding
Medaria Arradondo, who served in that position during the crises surrounding the 2020 murder of George Floyd. Speaking to the media on June 16
US Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, said that George Floyd's "death has had an irrevocable impact on the Minneapolis community, on our country and around the world." He said that the federal investigation revealed "patterns and practices" that "made what happened to George Floyd possible." At the June 16 news conference, Minneapolis officials said that they would work with the federal Justice Department to reach a
consent decree—an MPD police department "overhaul agreement" monitored by the federal court that would "force specific changes". == See also ==