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(Minneapolis) - After a months-long mediation process between a diverse
coalition of community groups and representatives of the Minneapolis
Police Department, an historic agreement has been reached. Details of
the agreement will be announced, and the signing of the document done,
tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. at the offices of the Minneapolis Urban
League, 2100 Plymouth Avenue North (Penn and Plymouth).
The inclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT)-related
concerns in the agreement is one critical measure of its success, said
Ann M. DeGroot, Executive Director of OutFront Minnesota, the state's
leading direct service and public policy agency serving the GLBT
community and its allies, which participated in the process from the
beginning.
"Although the Minneapolis Police Department has generally done well with
respect to GLBT citizens and concerns over the past decade, this
agreement takes things further," said OutFront Minnesota Deputy Director
Doug Federhart, who represented the agency and was one of the lead
negotiators throughout the process. "It further commits the Department
to pursuing the best possible practices in working with our
communities."
Federhart noted that despite a strong GLBT presence within the City's
police force, OutFront Minnesota continues to receive periodic reports
of improper language and conduct directed at GLBT citizens by law
enforcement officers. "The reports that community members have made over
the years were reviewed for incidents that illustrate general community
concerns," Federhart explained. "We have long encouraged people to make
these reports for a number of reasons, and the results have contributed,
we believe, to this positive development."
As part of the Unity Community Mediation Team, Federhart worked
alongside community leaders from at least fifteen other organizations,
including the Minneapolis Urban League, Minneapolis American Indian
Center, Black Police Officers Association, American Indian Movement
Peacemakers Center to name a few. "Even if we had never reached a
mediated agreement, the process would have been successful for the
reason that leaders who had never worked together before in Coalition,
have now built a strong and historic relationship," Federhart added. "We
will stand together!"
OutFront Minnesota looks forward to continuing to work with the
Minneapolis Police Department and other community organizations to
implement the agreement, which calls for further diversifying the police
force, training on culturally-specific issues, and other topics such as
use of force, accountability of police officers, and perceptions of
racially biased policing.
Contact:
Ann M. DeGroot, Executive Director
(612) 822-0127, ext. 107
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