Minneapolis mayor names new police chief amid protests
Fatal shooting becomes a factor in November election
Embattled Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges is turning to a veteran city cop to try to right the ship for the city’s police department in the aftermath of this month’s fatal shooting by an officer of an unarmed Australian woman.
Even before the shooting of Justine Damond, the issue of the Minneapolis Police Department’s use of deadly force had been a drag on Hodges — who faced fierce criticism in the aftermath of the controversial 2015 police shooting of Jamar Clark by Minneapolis police that led to an 18day occupation by protesters outside a north side police station.
Now, Hodges — who faces a crowded field of contenders in her November re-election bid — has picked Assistant Chief Medaria Arradondo, a 28-year veteran of the force from a fifth-generation African-American Minnesota family, to help lead the police force and make the case that she’s committed to reforming the department.
“It’s got good optics, but we’re still a long way from the election,” Larry Jacobs, a political analyst at the University of Minnesota, said of the Arradondo pick. “It’s not entirely clear that this is going to be credited to Betsy Hodges and lead to the lessening of the intense animosity Betsy has been receiving from some progressives and voters in communities of color.”
Damond, who was fatally shot by Officer Mohamed Noor, was white. But the circumstances of the July 15 shooting have triggered anger in the city’s black community, including some residents who say the incident reflects their long-held position that the department needs a dynamic overhaul. Both Noor and his partner, Matthew Harrity, were wearing body cameras at the time of the shooting, but neither turned them on.
The 40-year-old meditation instructor had called 911 after hearing what she thought might have been a sexual assault in the alley outside her apartment. She was fatally shot by Noor as she apparently approached the squad car. An attorney for Harrity said that it was “reasonable” that the officers may have feared they were targeted for an ambush.
When Hodges announced the resignation of Chief Janeé Harteau and her appointment of Arradondo on Friday, she was interrupted by dozens of angry protesters who called on her to resign as well.
“What we witnessed is a police force that’s completely out of control and has been for a very long time,” said Raeisha Williams, who is running for City Council and is a critic of Hodges and the police department’s policing of African-Americans. “They just shot the wrong person to make everybody wake up.”
Arradondo, who is known as “Rondo,” has climbed the ladder over his long MPD career that has included stints as a school resource officer, beat cop and internal affairs investigator. He was just elevated to the role of assis- tant chief in April.
He also has been a critic of the department. Arradondo and four other officers sued the city in 2007, alleging they were victims of system racial discrimination and a hostile working environment. He and his co-plaintiffs, who received a $740,000 settlement, argued that black cops were offered fewer training and overtime opportunities than their white colleagues.
Spokesmen for Arradondo and Hodges declined to make either available for an interview for this article.
The police department has bolstered training for its officers in recent years, focusing on community policing. The city also has spent about $2 million to study and implement a body camera policy. Yet a Minneapolis television station reported that officers were uploading on average only five to six hours footage for the month of March.
At least 10 candidates have announced their intent to challenge Hodges in the November mayor race in which police shootings have become a “flash point,” Jacobs said.
“Pretty much everything else about Minneapolis is going well,” said Jacobs, noting the city’s building boom, relatively low unemployment rate and redevelopment of some manufacturing districts. “You look at that you’d think, ‘Wow, voters are going to be happy with this mayor.’ Not so. She’s having a hard time and is in the fight for her political career.”