MINNEAPOLIS — A Minneapolis City Council vote has potentially derailed a multimillion-dollar plan to attract and retain police officers Tuesday, a move Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara called "beyond frustrating" in an internal video obtained by KARE 11 News.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey announced last Friday the city and Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis agreed to a deal that would offer millions of dollars in incentives for both veteran officers and potential new recruits. The terms of the deal included $18,000 over three years to veterans, and $15,000 over three years to recruits. Leaders said the money would help fill an already understaffed department.
On 7-5 vote, the council decided not to discuss the agreement at a budget meeting Tuesday morning, prompting O'Hara's internal message.
"It's no secret the MPD is facing the worst staffing crisis we have, and it continues to get worse," he said in the video message. "We are still not gaining enough new officers to keep pace with attrition and there's no other major city in America that has been impacted as severely as we have and so any comparison otherwise simply misses the mark."
Leaders say the wave of resignations and retirements from MPD is partially fueled by hiring conditions across the country, but was ignited by the 2020 murder of George Floyd by a former Minneapolis officer and the civil unrest that followed.
Frey added during his statements on Friday that besides retention and recruitment, topics like reform, accountability and officer wellness would also be priorities in contract negotiations, a sentiment O'Hara echoed.
"The reality that, as the number of sworn members in the MPD continues to dwindle, action must be taken to stop it," he said. "That includes not only these minimal retention and hiring bonuses, but raising the salary to reflect the reality that this is the toughest job in policing in America today. Period."
Stacey Gurian-Sherman, a lawyer on the steering committee for Minneapolis for a Better Police Contract, attended negotiation sessions between the city and union. She told KARE 11 last week that she didn't have a problem with incentives, but was generally worried about separating the proposed deal from a broader contract — and the lack of public input.
"Now the City Council's being asked to pass a financial gain for the Police Federation and for police officers, without any balance, without the consent decrees," she said.
Council President Andrea Jenkins, Vice President Linea Palmisano and Council Members LaTrisha Vetaw, Lisa Goodman and Michael Rainville were in favor of the deal, while Council Members Emily Koski, Jamal Osman, Elliot Payne, Robin Wonsley, Jason Chavez, Aisha Chughtai and Jeremiah Ellison voted against discussion.
Council Member Andrew Johnson was absent.
Mayor Frey called a special City Council meeting for Friday, Nov. 17 at 2 p.m. to discuss the topic further and potentially make a final decision.
"Police officers do need to get paid more," Frey said at a news conference Wednesday. "It's a very difficult job, it's an especially difficult job in Minneapolis right now and we need to remain competitive in our city... Additionally, it's not like we didn't get anything in exchange for the incentives that were provided. We clawed back a very important managerial authority that would allow our chief to place officers where they're needed most without going through a long and extended bidding process leaving certain precincts in the interim with not enough officers."
Council Member Koski also released a statement Wednesday concerning the decision, claiming the mayor and his administration hadn't provided adequate data and research to "refute the concerns that were raised nor their comprehensive plan to increase staffing levels within the Minneapolis Police Department."
She went on to say she supports police department staff and the effort to help establish a "fair contract as part of full negotiations with permanent pay raises, performance based bonuses, and incentives tied to actual motivators."
If the council rejects the agreement again at Friday's meeting, Frey said the city would return to negotiations with the police union.
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