Judge rules Minneapolis police ‘coaching’ records not public, sends narrow case to trial

A Hennepin County judge on Wednesday ruled that Minneapolis’ longstanding policy that coaching, a form of one-on-one mentoring to address police policy infractions, does not constitute formal discipline — meaning that city officials are entitled to shield such misconduct records from public scrutiny.

The decision marks a significant blow to the nonprofit Minnesota Coalition On Government Information (MNCOGI), a watchdog group that waged a three-year legal battle to expose how the Minneapolis Police Department used the secretive coaching process.

In her 50-page order, Judge Karen Janisch waved off internal city documents, including letters addressed to police officers explicitly referring to coaching as a type of “discipline,” as simply “clumsy and imprecise” language. She agreed with the city’s assessment that coaching was a “performance management device” to correct minor violations.

“The undisputed facts in the record establish that coaching is not imposed by the City as a form of disciplinary action intended to penalize or punish employees and this is a part of a mutual understanding between the City and officers as established through the parties respective rights and obligations under [Public Employee Labor Relations Act] PELRA and collective bargaining,” Janisch wrote in her summary judgement.

“Because the imposing of coaching is not a disciplinary action, documents related to coaching are private personnel data and not a final disciplinary action under [Minnesota statute.]”

That decision largely dismisses a protracted civil case that has long sought to make such police misconduct records public. Yet, MNCOGI may still pursue trial for allegations that Minneapolis violated state data laws by withholding particular non-personnel records.

The Minneapolis Police Department has used coaching more than any other means of dealing with police complaints over the past decade.

Attorneys for the city argue this gentler form of corrective action doesn’t amount to real discipline, and they don’t have to disclose any records to the public under Minnesota law. Critics have for years contended that the lack of transparency amounts to a rhetorical loophole the police department uses to keep bad behavior hidden.