August 19, 2005 - The co-chair of the Police Community Relations Council in Minneapolis says there are tensions on panel. But the Reverend Ian Bethel says that's why the council is needed. The PCRC was established more than a year ago with the help of a federal mediator to deal with a number of police policies, including hiring, training and use of force. But a rift has developed between the police department members and community members. Reverend Bethel says since some members of the council have had their own run-ins with the Minneapolis Police Department, that's not surprising.
August 25, 2005 - Candidates for Minneapolis mayor offered their visions for dealing with public safety issues during a sometimes-contentious debate last night. Organizers invited R.T. Rybak, incumbent Minneapolis Mayor; Peter McLaughlin, Hennepin County Commissioner; and Farheen Hakeem, Green Party candidate to the forum, but before it was over a fourth candidate, Marcus Harcus, forced his way onto the stage to participate.
September 7, 2005 - MPR’s Tom Scheck reports on fund-raising in Minneapolis mayoral race. Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak is the top fundraiser among the city's mayoral candidates. Rybak's campaign reports the mayor raised two hundred & forty-five thousand dollars between January 1st and August 30th. Rybak's top challenger, Peter McLaughlin, Hennepin County Commissioner, raised two hundred & eleven thousand dollars over the same period. Farheen Hakeem, Green Party Candidate, raised less than ten thousand dollars. The fundraising totals were released on the same day the city's police union started a campaign to unseat Rybak.
October 21, 2005 - The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota is deciding whether to help investigate the case of a Duluth man who died after a confrontation with police. 29-year-old David Croud died Tuesday. He went into a coma after he was arrested and never regained consciousness. Witnesses said police slammed Croud's face against a stone walltwice during an arrest outside the Fond du Lac Casino in downtown Duluth. Police said that Croud was drunk and had been harassing customers, and that he became "belligerent" as they attempted to handcuff him. ACLU executive director Chuck Samuelson says it's a difficult case to figure out.
November 1, 2005 - The American Civil Liberties Union says it will investigate the death of a Native American who was in police custody in Duluth. The family of David Croud asked the ACLU to look into allegations that he was physically abused by police. Some reports say Croud was intoxicated and resisted arrest. But Chuck Samuelson with the Minnesota ACLU says he was treated roughly.
November 2, 2005 - A medical examiner's report says a man who died in police custody in Duluth last month died as a result of an accident...not because police abused him.
January 30, 2006 - An investigation has cleared Duluth police of committing criminal acts in the death of an intoxicated man arrested last fall. David Croud died after police handcuffed him and took him to the emergency room, where he was given the drug Haldol to calm him down. Washington County Attorney Doug Johnson says witnesses reported no criminal behavior during the arrest.
January 31, 2006 - Duluth police have been cleared of criminal charges in the death of an intoxicated man last fall.
February 6, 2006 - The murder trial in the killing of St. Paul police officer James Sackett gets underway today . Sackett was allegedly lured to a house by a fake 911 call and then shot by a sniper. Two black men, Larry Clark and Ronald Reed, are accused in the shooting death of the officer, who was white. The murder of a police officer is rare, but what makes this case even more unusual is that the murder took place 35 years ago, during a time of racial turmoil. The judge in the case has said he only wants to hear about the crime -- not the times, but the two may be difficult to separate. Minnesota Public Radio's Toni Randolph talked to people who remember what St. Paul was like 35 years ago and she has this report.
March 27, 2006 - The Rochester police department is looking to hire a lot of officers. This is because more than a tenth of the department is scheduled to retire by the end of the year. And by 2008 the city will need to find money to keep officers hired through the federal COPS program started during the Clinton administration.As this process begins people within the city are talking about the department's priorities.