Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis announces plan to flag police officer problems early
Minneapolis leaders on Monday announced they had selected a company to build a database designed to flag problems with police officers — before they become problematic.
The idea is a technological approach — an “early intervention system” — to both support officers in need of say, mental health services, while also preventing cops with patterns of potential misconduct from ascending the ranks unchecked.
The latter was arguably the case for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who had pressed his knee against the necks of at least two men before he did the same maneuver to George Floyd in 2020. Floyd’s murder by Chauvin was the impetus for state and federal legal interventions that will lead to years of court-approved police oversight. City officials see an early intervention system as satisfying one of a litany of changes mandated by those legal cases.
“People say all the time, ‘How could they not know that this officer would do that?’” Police Chief Brian O’Hara said at a news conference Monday. “This is the answer to that.”
On Monday, Mayor Jacob Frey, O’Hara and other officials announced that after a national bidding process, they had selected Benchmark Analytics, a Chicago-based firm that includes researchers at the University of Chicago and has implemented similar systems in several other major cities, to build the Minneapolis system.
“It is not going to solve all our problems,” O’Hara said. He emphasized that the system “is not discipline” but rather an “early-warning system” that can identify potential concerns for officers that go beyond traditional complaints around misconduct.
O’Hara said the database will analyze information — such as overtime, patterns of calling in sick, arrest records and off-duty work — in search of outliers. The program can assist supervisors, who can intervene in an attempt to “correct officers’ behavior” before actual problems arise, he said.
Nick Barkley, a civilian member of a team implementing the program, said officer wellness was an essential part of it. “Happy, healthy humans produce the best work,” he said.
The five-year contract for $2.375 million needs approval from the City Council, which could take up the measure as soon as Thursday.
The money would be paid in part by a $500,000 grant from the Pohlad Foundation. The rest of the funding would come from general fund spending from the city’s police and information technology budgets.
Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis construction workers call on developers to take stand against ICE
Minneapolis, MN
Fan behind Anthony Edwards’ orange bracelet has beaten cancer
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – The story behind Anthony Edwards wearing a bright orange bracelet since last season has received a positive development, after Timberwolves fans learned Luca Wright has beaten leukemia.
Anthony Edwards, Luca Wright connection
What we know:
Last January, the 6-year-old Minnesotan met “Ant” for the first time following a game against the Detroit Pistons, proclaiming him to be his favorite player, and asking him to wear a bracelet that symbolizes leukemia awareness, resilience and support for those affected. During the interaction, the fan had created a sign with a to-do list: “1. Beat Cancer. 2. Be The Next MJ.”
Leukemia is a type of cancer that spreads throughout the bloodstream, infecting bone marrow and a person’s lymphatic system by rapid production of abnormal white blood cells that can’t fight infection.
Since then, the Wolves’ MVP has worn a bracelet that proclaims, “Love Like Luca” on it for every game he has played, vowing to wear it “until he hangs up his sneakers.”
Ant has gone on to explain how the gesture connected with him given that he lost both his mother, Yvette, and grandmother, Shirley, to cancer when he was 14 years old. The No. 5 jersey he wears currently is a tribute to them both.
Luca bracelet latest
Dig deeper:
More than a year later, Wolves fans have received the update they hoped for – now 7-year-old Luca has beaten his cancer.
What’s next:
Ant has since responded to the news with his own social media video, calling it “God’s gift” and saying, “Let’s do this Luca.”
No word yet on whether he intends to keep wearing the bracelet, though he’s previously said he has a stash of replacements near the team bench should one ever be broken.
The Source: Information provided by the Minnesota Timberwolves public relations department.
Minneapolis, MN
Family of Minneapolis brothers killed by cousin says their deaths were preventable:
A Minneapolis family is struggling to make sense of a tragedy that has left them heartbroken.
Family tells WCCO 14-year-old Xavier Barnett and 23-year-old Akwame Stewart were killed Monday.
The brothers were very different, but equally loved. Barnett was a good student and athlete. Stewart was a painter, creative and thoughtful. Two brothers, loved and full of promise, gone.
Police say the accused shooter is their cousin, 23-year-old Eddie Duncan.
Court records show Duncan was released on bail Monday on charges of fleeing law enforcement and possession of a gun modified with an “auto sear switch.”
Court records also show Duncan was ordered to undergo a psychological evaluation, but not until next month, on March 24.
Deasia Freeman, Barnett and Stewart’s sister, says this loss could have been prevented.
“They all failed us. We got two innocent lives gone for no reason. Didn’t do nothing to nobody,” Freeman said.
Family members say the system and Duncan’s family let them down.
Freeman says Duncan’s family saw the warning signs and still bailed him out
“If you knew this man was thinking like this, y’all should have kept him in there and he should not even have bail,” she said.
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office says they noted Duncan was a public safety risk and asked for a high bail, much higher than a typical request.
“In Minnesota, there is a constitutional right to bail, and the bail amount is set by the Court. Our office noted a public safety risk with Mr. Duncan and asked the judge to set bail at $70,000, or $35,000 with conditions; both of which are higher than we would typically request in this scenario. The judge set bail in that amount. Mr. Duncan posted $35,000 bail with conditions of release, as is allowed under the Minnesota Constitution, and was released from custody. Our thoughts are with all those impacted by yesterday’s violence. This was a terrible tragedy for this family and our community,” a spokesperson for the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said.
For Freeman and her family, the hardest part isn’t just the legal process but living each day without their brothers.
Even in the heartbreak, she says the memories of the good days, the laughter and love they shared will carry them through.
“I wish I could get just one more phone call from them asking me where I’m at,” Freeman said as tears rolled down her face.
Court records confirm Duncan left the scene of the crime and fled to nearby Brooklyn Center. There, a search warrant says Duncan “fired a gun at officers, striking two squads,” when police arrived. That’s when officers returned fire, shooting and killing him.
Three officers have been placed on critical incident leave as the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension leads the investigation into Duncan’s fatal shooting.
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