Majoritarian Cities: Policy Making and Inequality in Urban Politics

Chapter 4 - Focusing Events and the Limits of Law Enforcement Reform

101 chaPter 4 Focusing Events and the Limits of Law Enforcement Reform This chaPter addresses the politics of law enforcement in Minneapolis through the lens of three focusing events: the social unrest of the 1960s and early 1970s in north Minneapolis and at the University of Minnesota; the accidental death of an innocent elderly Black couple during a failed 1989 Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) drug raid; and a small-scale riot in north Minneapolis in August 2002 in the aftermath of another drug raid. The unrest of the 1960s and ’70s proved to have the most significant impact as it catapulted Charles Stenvig, a former Minneapolis police officer and president of the Police Federation (the union representing MPD officers), to the mayor’s office for three two-year terms beginning in 1969. The popularity of Stenvig’s law and order emphasis, best exemplified by his promise to “take the handcuffs off the police,” ultimately revealed most residents’ lack of interest in any discussion of police oversight, particularly during a period of social unrest. Further, Stenvig’s message and policy positions made clear that in a city that was over 90 percent White at the time of his first election, thinly veiled racial appeals were very popular. The 1989 tragedy prompted the creation of the Civilian Review Authority (CRA). The CRA’s creation was not the result of any major change in political power. Rather, it was the result of an extremely tragic event and policy makers seeking to quell a vocal minority and dampen the prospects for further protests. It should come as no surprise, then, that the CRA has never been able to have the impact that reformers had hoped. The agency’s lack of institutional power has made it less independent and authoritative than is necessary to effectively provide oversight of law enforcement personnel. 102 Majoritarian cities And finally, the events of the summer of 2002 set off yet another debate about police conduct and led to federal mediation and the creation of the Police Community Relations Council (PCRC). The unrest of 2002 also eventually led to the appointment of a police chief with a proven track record of improving police-community relations. Self-interest among policy makers was again at work insofar as city officials clearly did not want to lose control of their police department. Having the federal government administer the MPD was a distinct possibility if the police department was not willing to have a meaningful dialogue with its critics and enact tangible policy changes to address their concerns. After several years, however, the PCRC expired, and normal politics returned in which public scrutiny of the police is low and a relatively small group of reformers is left trying to push an issue that does not resonate with the general public. Because of the unique nature of the politics of law enforcement, only major focusing events have caused local officials to more closely examine current policies and practices. Law enforcement officers enjoy a special status with Americans that makes them stand apart from most government employees . Thus the backdrop for all local policy making in law enforcement is a high level of trust in and satisfaction with the police, a pattern which has been evident in the politics of policing in Minneapolis. Surveys taken over the past several years have shown that a significant majority of city residents are satisfied with police services in the city. Thus the process of reforming law enforcement practices and bringing greater accountability to the Minneapolis Police Department has been slow, with some incremental gains and occasional setbacks. But by a number of indicators, racial minorities still experience unequal outcomes in the provision of basic law enforcement services . For example, many recent surveys of city residents have shown that people of color have less trust than Whites in local law enforcement, and the racial profiling of the minority population by the MPD has been documented extensively. In addition, racial minorities, especially African Americans , consistently file complaints against MPD officers with the CRA at disproportionately high rates compared to Whites. These facts point to the need for additional reforms. Complicating matters further are the different approaches to reform advocated by the various critics of the city’s police force. In sum, the current parameters in the debate over policing demonstrate the difficulty of achieving and sustaining police reform over the long term. Focusing Events and the Limits of Law...