December 17, 2001 - In June the St. Paul Police Department and the St. Paul NAACP reached an agreement to eliminate racial profiling. The agreement was hailed as groundbreaking because it promised to make officers more accountable to the people they serve. The civil rights organization has finished the last of its training sessions with police officers. Both parties acknowledge there have been challenges. But they are optimistic about the future of the agreement.
February 6, 2002 - This year, police in many Minnesota communities are tracking the race of every person they stop. A proposal to require race data collection was defeated in the last legislative session. Instead, police and sheriffs departments were offered incentives to volunteer for a pilot project. Participating agencies will get video cameras for squad cars. Sixty five agencies have been gathering data for about a month.
February 12, 2002 - MPR’s Art Hughes reports on proposed budget cuts by Minneapolis Mayor and City Council. Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and City Council leaders delivered a list of proposed cuts to reach the five-million-dollar budget reduction imposed by the council two months ago. The police and fire departments will see reductions, but their functions are protected. Many smaller operations in city hall aren't as lucky, including Office of Cultural Affairs, Civilian Review Authority (CRA), and Truth and Sale of Housing program, amongst others.
March 11, 2002 - Somali leaders in Minneapolis are aiming strong criticism toward the police department after officers shot and killed a Somali man wielding a machete. Police say the man was a threat to officers and bystanders. But the incident has triggered an uproar by Somali immigrants who say the use of such force was unneccesary and want Police Chief Robert Olson fired. The incident has also called up past criticisms of how the Minneapolis police interact with people who are mentally ill.
March 12, 2002 - Minneapolis police, public officials and community members continue to search for answers following Sunday's shooting death of an apparantly mentally ill Somali man. Police shot the man after he allegedly refused to drop a machete and a crowbar he was carrying. Somalis in the south Minneapolis neighborhood where the shooting happened are angry at what they call excessive force used by the police. And mental health advocates say the shooting points out the shortcomings of the system that is supposed to help avoid such tragedies.
March 12, 2002 - Somali community leaders in Minneapolis are appealing to the African American community to join them in protesting the police shooting and killing of a mentally ill Somali man last weekend. Minneapolis officials say the officers acted in accordance with police regulations. But the Somali leaders told a predominantly African American crowd this morning the death of Abu Kassim Jelani is a case of police brutality. Some members of the African American community said they can sympathize with the Somalis.
March 21, 2002 - Confrontration over the police killing in Minneapolis last week of an armed, mentally ill Somali man has turned into pledges of cooperation. A Somali spokesman Wednesday joined Minneapolis Police Chief Robert Olson in promising to repair relations strained by the shooting of Abu Kassim Jeilani.
March 25, 2002 - MPR’s Art Hughes reports on push for bill focused on addressing mental health crisis incidents. The mayor of Minneapolis joined state lawmakers and mental health advocates at the Capitol to support a bill to make it easier for police officers to commit someone having a mental health crisis. They say the bill will help prevent tragedies. Two weeks ago, an apparently delusional Minneapolis man was shot and killed after confronting police with a machete. Some in the mental health field say with funds dwindling, there's no place to bring people in crisis. Report includes comments from Mindy Greiling, state representative and author of bill; R.T. Rybak, mayor of Minneapolis; Greg Hestness, Minneapolis deputy police chief; John Trepp, member of Friends of Barbara Schneider; and Sue Aberholden, executive director of National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).
March 25, 2002 - The mayor of Minneapolis joined state lawmakers and mental health advocates at the Capitol today to support a bill to make it easier for police officers to commit someone having a mental health crisis. They say the bill will help prevent tragedies. Two weeks ago, an apparently delusional Minneapolis man was shot and killed after confronting police with a machete. But some in the mental health field say with funds dwindling, there's no place to bring people in crisis. MPR’s Art Hughes presents this report on gathering.
March 29, 2002 - MPR’s Cathy Wurzer interviews students on who will be meeting with R.T. Rybak about community issues. A group of students from South High School in Minneapolis want to solve the social problems they see around them, and they'll get a chance to share their ideas with mayor R.T. Rybak. The students were asked what they'd like to change about their community. Ryan Peterson and Nora Williams are two students who will meet with the mayor. Peterson says the students first identified the issues that affected their community the most. One planned topic of discussion is police profiling.