Minneapolis approves officer pay raise years after calls to defund the police

By  MICHAEL GOLDBERG and STEVE KARNOWSKI

Updated 5:05 PM CDT, July 18, 2024

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Years after a movement to defund the Minneapolis Police Department and a severe officer shortage in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, the city approved a contract Thursday that would make Minneapolis officers among the highest-paid in the region.

The Minneapolis City Council approved the contract — which includes 22% pay increases over three years — with the department’s union even as some council members expressed frustration that some of their most ambitious proposals to radically overhaul the police department following a nationwide reckoning in 2020 over racism in policing have fizzled.

A majority on the council and other city leaders praised what they said was a groundbreaking compromise in a city still reeling from Floyd’s death and the ensuing tumult. The move to increase the officers’ pay highlights how some police departments nationwide are raising officers’ compensation to combat retirements and resignations.

“We are turning a corner,” Mayor Jacob Frey said after the 8-to-4 vote. “Recognizing that we need good, community-oriented policing in our city. Recognizing that the concepts of both safety and change are not mutually exclusive. In fact, they have to go hand in hand. That’s ultimately what this contract does.”

Minneapolis became ground zero for the “defund the police” movement following Floyd’s murder at the hands of an officer. The protests and riots culminated with the burning of a police station and left the city on edge. Many officers retired or went on disability after Floyd’s death, claiming post-traumatic stress disorder resulting from the unrest.

While activists didn’t succeed in replacing the police department with a department of public safety, the force remains well below full strength. Minneapolis’ police department has just over 560 officers, according to data provided Thursday by the department. That is down from more than 800 before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The department launched a $1 million recruiting campaign in March. The pay increases are critical for retaining officers and attracting new talent, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said. Starting salaries for rookies will now top $90,000 a year.

“While increasing pay is certainly not the panacea to any staffing crisis anywhere, I think it’s without question that this police department is the most scrutinized in the country, period,” O’Hara said. “The vast majority of cops in this town have not felt supported over the last few years.”

Since 2020, Minneapolis officers have been dealing with higher caseloads, which has caused longer response times, city officials have said. Officers have also dealt with traumatic events, including the May shooting death of an officer that stunned the department.

The contract includes some police accountability measures, such as a policy that will allow O’Hara to keep officers accused of misconduct off the streets for a longer period during pending investigations. Critics of the contract and even some council members who voted for it said the department still needs major changes.

City Council President Elliott Payne said he voted for the contract because he feared rejecting the proposal would put the policy victories it included in jeopardy. He promised to keep applying pressure for future changes.

“This contract does not go nearly far enough, it really doesn’t,” Payne said. “We had a history of a toxic, racist police department because we had a broad community that was willing to look the other way.”

The department is operating under both a consent decree with the U.S. Justice Department and a “court-enforceable settlement agreement” with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights. The two agreements, reached last year, both seek to revamp policing in the city, including changes to policies on the use of force, and efforts to reduce racial disparities in policing.

The consent decree is similar to oversight efforts in Seattle, New Orleans, Baltimore, Chicago and Ferguson, Missouri.

Jeremiah Ellison, one of the council members who voted against the contract, said he didn’t believe it would improve staffing.

“If this contract passes, and if and when staffing is not resolved by the contract, I’m sort of curious to know what will be the next frontier, what will be the next Schrodinger’s contract that we will debate,” Ellison said.

Chuck Wexler, executive director for the Police Executive Research Forum, a nonprofit policing think tank, said police pay has been rising since 2020.

“I actually have not seen anything like what is occurring in American policing in terms of compensation,” Wexler said. “And it’s a reflection of how far municipalities have to go in order to hire the next generation of police officers.”

Aurin Chowdhury, a city council member who said she struggled over her decision before deciding to vote for the contract, said residents have expressed frustration over both staffing and the pace of change.

“There isn’t solid consensus in our community around this contract, that staffing is a priority but feels in contest with reform and change,” Chowdhury said.

This article was originally published by the Associated Press.