government below the level of department head. I appreciate that my role in the
City government is to approve, help supervise, help evaluate, guide and support
our department heads. And then I try to allow them to lead and manage the staff
who work in the departments they manage.
But today I ask you to forgive me, because I feel the need to speak out
publicly about my disappointment in the head of the police department's
decision to demote a deputy in the leadership team of that department, Deputy
Chief Arthur Knight.
The point that Knight was making is one that I don't think any reasonable
person can disagree with: the Minneapolis Police Department does not reflect
the community it serves. The department is much more white, male, and
suburban-dwelling than the people of our city. And if they keep doing what they
have done in the past, this will not change.
I'm especially concerned to see a Black leader within the department demoted
for pointing out this simple, undeniable fact. This is even more concerning
when there has been a pattern in the past of DC Knight telling unfortunate
truths, and having his own words denied by the MPD communications staff:
http://www.citypages.com/news/minneapolis-deputy-police-chief-3-6-percent-of-cops-shouldnt-be-cops/566852601<https://eur05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fl.facebook.com%2Fl.php%3Fu%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.citypages.com%252Fnews%252Fminneapolis-deputy-police-chief-3-6-percent-of-cops-shouldnt-be-cops%252F566852601%26h%3DAT0Aqv5GlT2mohh2olPi2r--KP7YuTehWdq3KNur8_KjxtxCrmL-059xonW-oEZZfYGaVw3hsgLF98o08uRNxXGP0EElrjQ8fkyTiKQbRiD5QlZT6aUnHHoFTL53o31R_Ap2HUEhIl5K&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cc631eaf2c6b4478aa7bd08d875911821%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637388613315802209%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=LTl3g0PQ4Y8Hkb5BAzYprYPfJGkuT2lLF9ATeEuYr08%3D&reserved=0>
One of my biggest concerns about this reaction by the City, and about how
others may react to it, is the chilling effect this can and will have (and
likely already has had), on City employees willingness to be open and honest -
and sometimes forgiving of others - as we work to have the challenging and
awkward conversations we need to have about race and City government. We need
to be able to talk about these things honestly and openly and we need City
employees who work within the system, at all levels, to be able to share their
thoughts and observations openly, not just with policymakers, but with the
press and the public. What we need now is a larger, broader, and deeper
community conversation about City government and the racism embedded within it.
And we need that to be an open public conversation with the people of our city,
who are, after all, the real bosses and the real leaders we need guiding,
supporting and evaluating our work every step of the way.
https://www.startribune.com/top-minneapolis-police-official-demoted-over-white-boys-comment/572804802/<https://eur05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fl.facebook.com%2Fl.php%3Fu%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.startribune.com%252Ftop-minneapolis-police-official-demoted-over-white-boys-comment%252F572804802%252F%26h%3DAT3gpbF-6v2tR_WFSO0sUPgrx5UtScBdDpz4-E-ODMXnIv2-FXvnPygYTJFUvfGeu1ykn1wVBmGY08oKjuepxV-yf6P6Ejl9bD6cYTdpmtJlhrfozrAzz6P6MCOQ9ZXwtdgI9PD-5a6m&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cc631eaf2c6b4478aa7bd08d875911821%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637388613315802209%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=y%2FarKkscupE3WNhd63UDGLB1cOpUJTM4pwDQc1DmYeg%3D&reserved=0>