Report: Mpls. police disciplinary records detail pattern of mismanagement

Updated: 11:02 a.m.

Months before George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis in May, Twin Cities freelance journalist Tony Webster filed a public records request with the city. His ask: disciplinary files for the city’s entire police force — some 800 officers.

Those records became all the more notable after Floyd died at the hands of police. Webster ended up suing for the documents, and the city provided 195 files.

Webster published his findings this week with Max Nesterak in the Minnesota Reformer. The analysis of the police disciplinary records found the system for managing officer performance and misconduct has contributed to the difficulty city officials complain about when they want to fire bad cops.

They found the system included lengthy delays and that officers sometimes got interim promotions and commendations that thwarted city sanctions.

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Webster says one incident took so long, the point had been moot for months when it was resolved.

“By the time the full discipline was over, that officer had already been retired for two years,” Webster says. “We did find that it takes on average about 539 days to resolve a case that results in discipline for a Minneapolis police officer.”

Webster joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to talk about the reporting.

Click on the audio player to hear their conversation.