page_title: Minneapolis
section_title: Police
hierarchical_section_title: Minneapolis / Government / Police
caption_attribution_description: Policeman Clarence Pederson directing traffic at Seventh and Nicollet, Minneapolis.
context_page_description: Minneapolis is the largest and most populous city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the seat of Hennepin County, the state's most populous county. As of 2019, Minneapolis has an estimated population of 429,606, making it the 46th-largest city in the United States, the 8th-largest in the Midwestern United States, and the second-most densely populated large city in the region behind Chicago. Minneapolis and its neighbor Saint Paul make up the Twin Cities, with Minneapolis being the larger of the two. The Twin Cities metro and their surrounding suburbs contain about 3.64 million people, making it the third-largest economic and population center in the Midwest and the 16th-largest metropolitan area in the United States.
  Minneapolis lies on both banks of the Mississippi River, just north of the river's confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Saint Paul, the state's capital. The city is abundantly rich in water, with 13 lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls; many connected by parkways in the Chain of Lakes and the Grand Rounds National Scenic Byway.
context_section_description: Early Minneapolis experienced a period of corruption in local government and crime was common until an economic downturn in the mid-1900s. Since 1950 the population decreased and much of downtown was lost to urban renewal and highway construction. The result was a "moribund and peaceful" environment until the 1990s.
  Minneapolis has an ordinance, adopted in 2003, that directs local law enforcement officers "not to 'take any law enforcement action' for the sole purpose of finding undocumented immigrants, or ask an individual about his or her immigration status."
  From 2006 to 2012, under chief Tim Dolan, the crime rate steadily dropped, and the police benefited from new video and gunfire locator resources, although Dolan was criticized for expensive city settlements for police misconduct. While violent crime dropped (from 6,374 in 2006 to 3,720 in 2011), homicides rose by 105% and rape was at the highest rate among large cities. U.S. News & World Report said in 2011 that Minneapolis tied with Cleveland, Ohio as the 10th most dangerous city in the United States.
  In 2010, a Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee into the back of David Smith who was in handcuffs and died a week later. In the $3 million settlement police agreed to do new training on positional asphyxiation however it is unclear as of 2020 if that training takes place.
  A previous administration faced severe criticism after the police shooting of Jamar Clark who died in 2015. Facing new criticism when an Australian woman was murdered by a police officer in July 2017, the resignation of chief Janeé Harteau was secured, and 28-year veteran Medaria Arradondo was appointed chief of police.
  After George Floyd was killed in 2020, the city distanced itself from the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD). A growing number of entities ended their relationships with MPD beginning with the University of Minnesota, the Minneapolis Public Schools, the Walker Art Center, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and First Avenue. Law firm Dorsey & Whitney tried to lessen possible negative impact on the black community by ending its 40-year program of prosecuting misdemeanors for the city attorney. The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board's park police moved to differentiate its uniforms more from the MPD and will no longer respond to nonviolent MPD calls. Governor Tim Walz initiated a civil rights investigation into the department by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights. Minneapolis City Council president Lisa Bender announced that the city should dismantle its police department and replace it with a "transformative new model of public safety." Two days later, on June 7, a veto-proof majority of the city council pledged to begin the process of dismantling the MPD as it now exists, and members stated they would work with the community to develop a new system of public safety.
  President of the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis since 2015, Bob Kroll characterized Floyd as a violent criminal and called the protests against his killing a terrorist movement. Labor groups including the Minnesota Nurses Association, AFSCME Council 5, the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers, the Minnesota AFL-CIO, the state's largest teachers union Education Minnesota, and former police chief Harteau asked for Kroll's resignation.
  In 2020, the City Council voted unanimously to ask the Charter Commission to forward a ballot initiative to voters to change the city charter to remove the MPD and create a department of community safety and violence prevention. The proposed amendment will not appear on ballots in November 2020, after the commission voted 10-5 to take more time to review.
caption: Traffic control officer in 1959
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