Minneapolis council shifts police media duties to city staff

MINNEAPOLIS — The Minneapolis City Council voted Friday to shift police media duties away from the Police Department to city communications staff, in what one of the proposal's authors called a small move designed to improve trust following the death of George Floyd.

The move was approved 9-3, over objections of some council members who wanted to table it for further discussion. Local journalists also sought more discussion on the issue, raising concerns it would decrease access to timely information.

“This is hardly transformational change,” said Council Member Lisa Goodman, who voted no. “It almost feels like it's retaliatory toward the public information (officer) who gave out information at the time of the horrible murder of Mr. Floyd that he thought to be true and correct. ... I'm disgusted.”

The initial police news release about Floyd's May 25 death, released by spokesman John Elder, said Floyd “appeared to be suffering medical distress” after he resisted arrest and was handcuffed. Cellphone video recorded by a bystander showed Floyd pleading for air as a white officer, Derek Chauvin, pressed his knee into the Black man's neck for nearly eight minutes and people nearby urged the police to help him.

To explain the misinformation, Elder previously told The Associated Press that he missed initial notifications about Floyd and did not visit the scene, as he usually does after major events. He said he knew the arrest was on body camera video but that he would not be able to review it for several hours. Instead, he released the initial description after being briefed by supervisors.

Floyd's death s parked nationwide protests against police brutality and racial injustice, and renewed calls for reforms in policing.

The communications change comes as most Minneapolis City Council members are supporting a proposal to dismantle the Police Department altogether and create a new agency focused on community public safety.

Council Member Steve Fletcher, one of the authors of the communications proposal, conceded that the change was a small one. But he said this is not a time to be cautious.

“People are asking us to do change. People are asking us to do this work, and I think it's very important that we move forward,” he said.

The board for the Minnesota Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists sent City Council members a letter discouraging the move. The board said it was concerned that the city's communications department wasn't equipped to handle police media duties and wouldn't be accessible at all hours, and on holidays. The board also was concerned that putting the media role within the city would make it vulnerable to “manipulation based on city politics and sentiments.”

“We fully recognize and understand the communication issues that exist within the current PIO model, but do not believe that eliminating that channel of communication will solve the problem,” the letter said.