Forum on race relations with Minneapolis police turns tense

Blong Yang says part of his job as a City Council member is to make sure Minneapolis doesn't become the next Ferguson, Missouri. There, relations between police and protesters remain at odds after riots followed the August shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a white police officer.

"We don't want to see what happened there happen here," he said.

But at a forum Wednesday night at the Minneapolis Urban League that he helped organize, Yang and others heard plenty of complaints from the city's black community about the way they're treated by the mostly white police force.

"These kinds of things can happen from Helena, Montana, to Waycross, Georgia," said longtime Minneapolis civil rights activist Ron Edwards. "It's a part of, unfortunately, the American experience."

Community activist DeVon Nolen offered the gathering of about 50 people a window into the serious lack of trust between African Americans and the Minneapolis Police Department.

"They're treated like savages," she said of black residents. "They're treated like dogs. I've seen it. I've witnessed it with my own eyes. And my children witness it on a daily basis. And so it's hard for me to tell them that if you're in trouble, you should go to a police officer for help."

Several police officers stood at the back of the room, listening. Their uniforms carried a lot of baggage, said north side activist Mel Reeves, who sat on the panel.

"We're talking about we're going to have a a relationship, you and me, and already when we come in, there's already some tension -- tension, because, not you, but other people who wear your uniform, have done some horrible stuff to us," Reeves said. "If we're going to actually have a conversation with one another, you've got to leave your pistol outside."

That's not going to happen, Officer Eric Lukes shouted, as he stepped to the microphone.

"I've been in this precinct for over 15 years," the African American said. "I know most of your kids that are on the street ... So I know both sides. But the thing is, when I put this uniform on, this comes with me. I'm a police officer."

Some participants, like Saundra Crump, said what like what they'd really like to see from the police is an attitude adjustment. "Because I don't think it's always about race," she said. "I think sometimes it's just about power."

Minneapolis Police Commander Mike Kjos represented the department on the panel. He told the audience his officers have been going through training on fair and impartial policing and on customer service.

"We are public servants," Kjos said. "Every one of us. Everyone in here you see in blue works for you. Okay? We may tend to forget that from time to time, but if we start to act like we don't work for you, then you need to remind us that we do."

One of the most difficult questions raised at the forum was what Minneapolis could do to close the divide between black residents and the police. Council Member Andrew Johnson says the police department should track how often officers cite African Americans for minor infractions like "lurking" with the intent to commit a crime.

"And we can identify, hey, if there's two officers in the 4th Precinct that are both working the dog shift for the period of a year, and one has given out a whole heck of a lot of citations for lurking, all or almost exclusively for people of color, and the other one hasn't, then we've got an issue," he said.

Johnson said if politicians just talk about eliminating racial disparities in the city, but don't do anything about it, there's a greater chance Minneapolis could become the next Ferguson.