Dayton forms panel to address police/community relations
Gov. Mark Dayton on Wednesday announced the creation of an advisory group to help build trust between law enforcement agencies and state residents.
The governor's Council on Law Enforcement and Community Relations will consist of more than 30 members, including law enforcement officials and people who are critical of police tactics.
The panel's formation comes at a time when many people in Minnesota and across the country are expressing anger over police killings of African-Americans. Dayton also noted "vicious ... unwarranted attacks" against police officers in other states.
Most law enforcement officers do a good job making their communities safer and maintaining good relations with the people they serve, Dayton said. But he acknowledged that challenges remain in communities where trust in law enforcement isn't strong.
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"We need to face up to those challenges and to see what we can do to remedy them and move ahead — all of us — as one Minnesota together," Dayton said.
The council will make recommendations to the governor and state lawmakers about actions that can improve police/community relations, as well as identify and publicize successful efforts by communities and law enforcement agencies around the country.
Scott Johnson, a co-chair of the council and chief of the Grand Rapids Police Department, said police do a better job fighting crime when they get along with the people they serve.
"For policing to be effective, there must be trust between residents and police," Johnson said. "For there to be trust, there must first be a relationship. And to my mind, policing is all about building relationships."
The council will consist of 15 voting members and 17 others who will participate but not vote. As invited by the governor, the council's voting members will include representatives from such law enforcement groups as the Minnesota Sheriff's Association, the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association and the Peace Officer Standards and Training board.
Also serving as voting members will be representatives from groups that have been critical of law enforcement, including Black Lives Matter and the NAACP.
JaNae Bates, communications director of the faith-based group ISAIAH, which will also have voting representation, said the council will not solve the underlying issues that contribute to the gap in trust between communities of color and police. But she said it's a good start.
"Anything that can help with reform, that is going to get us to a better place as a community, we are in line with," she said.
Bates said the council should address policy changes on how officers are trained to use force and making sure police officers are more racially and ethnically representative of the diverse communities they serve.
The council will also include representatives for the families of Jamar Clark and Philando Castile, two African-American men shot and killed by police in the Twin Cities during the last year. The Ramsey County Attorney's Office is expected within weeks to announce whether charges will be filed against the officer who shot Castile.
The council will submit recommendations to the governor and Legislature on how to improve police/community relations before the beginning of the 2017 session. A final report is expected in June.