FILE - In this June 12, 2020, file photo, protesters demanding change in the wake of the death of George Floyd hold a media briefing outside the Minnesota State Capitol, in St. Paul, Minn. Minnesota’s top Democratic and Republican lawmakers reached agreement on the highlights of a public safety bill that includes police accountability measures, a day after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison for the death of Floyd. While some details had yet to be finalized, leaders from both parties said the compromise reached late Saturday, June 26, 2021, settles the major issues after months of negotiations.
Jim Mone
FILE - In this Sunday, May 31, 2020, file photo, a police officer points a hand cannon at protesters who have been detained pending arrest on South Washington Street, as protests continued following the death of George Floyd, in Minneapolis. Minnesota’s top Democratic and Republican lawmakers reached agreement on the highlights of a public safety bill that includes police accountability measures, a day after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison for the death of Floyd. While some details had yet to be finalized, leaders from both parties said the compromise reached late Saturday, June 26, 2021, settles the major issues after months of negotiations.
John Minchillo
By STEVE KARNOWSKI Associated Press
Jun 29, 2021
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota House approved a modest set of police accountability measures Tuesday night that's part of a broader public safety budget bill as a deadline loomed for the state's divided Legislature to avert a partial state government shutdown.
The 75-59 vote came on the heels of last week's sentencing of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin to 22 1/2 years for murder in the death of George Floyd. It wasn't clear for most of the day whether leaders of the slim House Democratic majority had enough votes to pass the compromise and send it to the Republican-controlled Senate for final approval. In the end, even a few Republicans voted yes.
Leaders delayed the start of the debate for several hours and huddled in private for more discussions before finally bringing the bill to the floor for over six hours of debate.
The bill contains limits on no-knock warrants and on the use of informants. It was amended on the floor to allow “sign-and-release” warrants so that police aren't required to arrest low-level offenders just because they had missed a court appearance. But Democrats dropped their push for a ban on “pretextual” traffic stops for minor offenses such as expired license tabs.
It follows on a police accountability package passed last summer that included a statewide ban on the use of chokeholds. Several lawmakers with the People of Color and Indigenous Caucus said ahead of the debate that the bill didn't go nearly far enough, while stopping short of saying they would vote against it.
Democratic Rep. Carlos Mariani, of St. Paul, chairman of the House public safety committee and one of the top negotiators on the bill, agreed it didn't go far enough but urged lawmakers to approve it anyway and to keep pushing for deeper change. He blamed the Senate GOP majority for blocking stronger action.
“This is a mighty bill,” Mariani said. “And yet as meaningful as all these provisions and more are, it also lacks, in my opinion, the necessary weight of accountability to respond to the persistent use of deadly force by licensed police officers that have produced a steady stream of killings of Black and brown people in Minnesota.”
Senate Republicans resisted stronger measures for months, saying they couldn't support anything they regarded as anti-police. They put a higher priority on passing a $52 billion, two-year state government budget to replace the current budget, which runs out Wednesday night. Democratic Gov. Tim Walz had signed eight of the big budget bills by Tuesday, but the public safety package was one of a few still needing approval ahead of the looming deadline.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota House approved a modest set of police accountability measures Tuesday night that's part of a broader public safety budget bill as a deadline loomed for the state's divided Legislature to avert a partial state government shutdown.
The 75-59 vote came on the heels of last week's sentencing of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin to 22 1/2 years for murder in the death of George Floyd. It wasn't clear for most of the day whether leaders of the slim House Democratic majority had enough votes to pass the compromise and send it to the Republican-controlled Senate for final approval. In the end, even a few Republicans voted yes.
Leaders delayed the start of the debate for several hours and huddled in private for more discussions before finally bringing the bill to the floor for over six hours of debate.
The bill contains limits on no-knock warrants and on the use of informants. It was amended on the floor to allow “sign-and-release” warrants so that police aren't required to arrest low-level offenders just because they had missed a court appearance. But Democrats dropped their push for a ban on “pretextual” traffic stops for minor offenses such as expired license tabs.
It follows on a police accountability package passed last summer that included a statewide ban on the use of chokeholds. Several lawmakers with the People of Color and Indigenous Caucus said ahead of the debate that the bill didn't go nearly far enough, while stopping short of saying they would vote against it.
Democratic Rep. Carlos Mariani, of St. Paul, chairman of the House public safety committee and one of the top negotiators on the bill, agreed it didn't go far enough but urged lawmakers to approve it anyway and to keep pushing for deeper change. He blamed the Senate GOP majority for blocking stronger action.
“This is a mighty bill,” Mariani said. “And yet as meaningful as all these provisions and more are, it also lacks, in my opinion, the necessary weight of accountability to respond to the persistent use of deadly force by licensed police officers that have produced a steady stream of killings of Black and brown people in Minnesota.”
Senate Republicans resisted stronger measures for months, saying they couldn't support anything they regarded as anti-police. They put a higher priority on passing a $52 billion, two-year state government budget to replace the current budget, which runs out Wednesday night. Democratic Gov. Tim Walz had signed eight of the big budget bills by Tuesday, but the public safety package was one of a few still needing approval ahead of the looming deadline.
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