MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Supporters of greater police accountability met Thursday evening in Minneapolis to talk strategy.
The Twin Cities Coalition 4 Justice 4 Jamar wants to amend the city charter in order to create a civilian board that oversees the Minneapolis Police Department.
Frank Chapman, the executive director of the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, helped lead a panel discussion. Organizers of the event don’t trust officers to properly look after themselves, and they don’t trust the city council or mayor to make substantial change.
Their idea for the Civilian Police Accountability Board (CPAC) is about community policing, where the people have a say in how they’re policed.
“It’s kind of very similar to a park board or a school board where the policing part of the city charter would get put into these people’s hands, and they’d make decisions like the budget, hiring and firing practices, [and] investigations,” said Sam Martinez, an organizer with Twin Cities Coalition 4 Justice 4 Jamar.
In the CPAC proposal, members would be elected and required to have no affiliation with the police department or city government.
Activists need to gather more than 10,000 signatures to get a charter amendment on the ballot for a vote.
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Source: CBS Minnesota