MINNEAPOLIS—The recent police killing of Winston Boogie Smith Jr., 32, has reignited protests against law enforcement in Minneapolis—and, today, Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland calling for more investigations into law enforcement practices in the state.
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), and Democrats, sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland today calling for additional investigations into patterns and practices Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), Minnesota State Patrol (SP), Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO), the Brooklyn Center Police Department (BCPD), the Richfield Police Department (RPD), the Edina Police Department (EPD) and the St. Anthony Police Department (SAPD).
The letter comes after the Department of Justice, under Attorney General Garland, opened a patterns and practices investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) last month.
It was signed by Minnesota Senator Chris Eaton, Minnesota Senator Mary Kunesh, Minnesota Representative Esther Agbaje, Minnesota Representative Aisha Gomez, Minnesota Representative Fue Lee, Minnesota Senator Omar Fateh, Minnesota Senator Patricia Torres Ray, Minnesota Representative Sandra Feist, Minnesota Representative Sydney Jordan, Hennepin County Commissioner Angela Conley, Hennepin County Commissioner Irene Fernando, Minneapolis Council Member Jeremiah Ellison, Minneapolis Council Member Cam Gordon, Minneapolis Council Member Andrew Johnson, Brooklyn Center Council Member Marquita Butler, Hennepin County Commissioner Marion Greene, Minneapolis Council Member Steve Fletcher, Minneapolis Council Member Andrea Jenkins, and Minneapolis Council Member Jeremy Schroder.
“The MPD practices that led to Mr. Floyd’s death are not unique among Minnesota law enforcement,” they wrote. “These issues are visible both in proactive law enforcement settings like traffic stops and arrests, but also in the law enforcement response to protests shining a light on these injustices. Minnesota has some of the nation’s worst and most persistent racial disparities, and the DOJ’s investigation of systemic issues in Minnesota law enforcement would be an important step toward addressing our state’s racial inequities. It is for these reasons that we request the DOJ consider additional investigations of other law enforcement entities that also contribute to this environment of racial violence and injustice.”
