MINNEAPOLIS — Editor's note: The video above first aired on April 29, 2022.
The Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) is once again in the legal crosshairs, this time the subject of a federal lawsuit filed by the NAACP over alleged social media surveillance.
Filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court, the lawsuit accuses MPD officers of using covert social media accounts to follow the activities of NAACP officials "without any investigative purpose." The plaintiffs say up to 20 officers posed as Black community members to interact with, criticize and harass the Minneapolis NAACP and "push racist stereotypes about Black people."
The complaint is based on an investigative report on misconduct within MPD compiled by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights and released in April of 2022. NAACP leaders say the report is just the latest in a series of investigations that confirm the racist culture and practices of the embattled department.
“While the Minneapolis Police Department’s surveillance of our membership is not surprising, it is disappointing. We assumed that our work with MPD on public safety and community matters was being done in good faith. Instead, MPD simultaneously tried to bring us harm. To know MPD surveilled our members is deeply unnerving and upsetting,” said Cynthia Wilson, President of the Minneapolis NAACP. “Their actions violated our trust. MPD needs to be held accountable to prevent this from happening to anyone else.
The lawsuit concludes that MPD officers clearly violated guarantees of the First and Fourteenth amendments through alleged racially discriminatory policing, selective investigation, harassment, and unlawful surveillance.
The NAACP is asking for compensatory and punitive damages from the officers and the city of Minneapolis to be determined at jury trial, plus coverage of all legal costs.
A spokesperson for the city of Minneapolis told KARE 11's Lou Raguse that the city has not been served but is reviewing a copy of the lawsuit.
"It appears that Plaintiff’s Complaint relies on MDHR’s April 2022 findings report. It is important to note that MDHR’s settlement agreement FAQ page, updated on March 31, 2023, clarifies “What was meant by surveillance in the MDHR findings report was that MPD officers used covert social media accounts to ‘follow’ and ‘engage with’ individuals and groups through their social media accounts," the spokesperson wrote in a written response to the lawsuit. "FAQ also acknowledges that it is common practice for law enforcement agencies to ‘follow’ and ‘engage with’ individuals and groups through their social media accounts to establish a credible undercover social media profile. In response to MDHR’s findings, the City has previously stated it does not agree that MPD was using covert social media accounts (or “undercover social media accounts”) to spy on Black people, Black organizations or elected officials."
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