MinnPost’s Twin Cities Documenters program trains and pays community members to take notes at local government meetings. Below is Glen Johnson’s summary and observations from the April 13 Minneapolis Community Commission on Police Oversight meeting. You can read the full notes here. The notes include links to the video and agenda, as well as timestamps to help you navigate the recording.

Related: MinnPost launches Twin Cities Documenters program, hub for civic engagement

Attendance

Present: Latonya Reeves (Chair), Paul Olsen (Vice-Chair), Chris Baker, Eric Bartz, James Canaday, Michael McElhinney, Melissa Newman, Mara Schanfield, Louis Smith, Bridgette Stewart

Absent: Leah Indrelie, Jennifer Clement, Nichelle Williams-Johnson

Summary: 

• The commission received a presentation on the Office of Police Conduct Review’s current backlog status of reported police incidents and a general briefing on the process for complaints.
  • The complaint backlog has been reduced from 110 cases to 14 as of March 2026. All complaints are reviewed by the Office of Police Conduct Review (OPCR); average review time is 14 days.
  • Commissioner Mara Schanfield expressed surprise that non-disciplinary action (‘coaching’) could occur during the review phase before an investigation is done. Staff advised that if a low-level policy violation is identified for an office with no history of prior issues, coaching would be the appropriate action.

• The commission unanimously agreed on policy recommendations and requests for information regarding the Minneapolis Police Department’s role in immigration enforcement (policy 9-401).
  • The commission recommended increasing facetime to the public during times of crisis, developing a stronger system for tracking calls about federal agents and providing more robust training on the policy.
  • They also are requesting an after-action report on Operation Metro Surge and a legal opinion from the city attorney on the duty to intervene. 

• The commission unanimously approved topics for the CCPO annual public hearing on May 11.
  • Topics will include MPD’s domestic violence response, duty to intervene and tension with separation ordinance, and equity, which includes general officer obligations, non-discriminatory policing, MPD’s commitment to impartial enforcement of laws and ongoing issues with MPD culture.

• The commission unanimously approved a request to the Civil Rights Department to present on the current budget for their work and the expected 2027 budget.
  • The Civil Rights Department advised CCPO commissioners would be unable to attend the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE) Conference this year due to lack of funding.
  • Commissioner James Canaday noted this was the first time hearing of the lack of funds and the conference is the only venue for meeting other people doing this work. Vice Chair Olsen commented that the budget and staff for the CCPO is small and they only know this because of speaking with others who do this type of work at the conference.

• The commission compiled recommendations and comments on the High-Pressure Air (HPA) Projectiles and Launchers (Pepper Balls) policy.
  • The Police Policy Research and Recommendations committee will finalize the report on behalf of the CCPO and send to the city.
  • Commissioner Michael McElhinney said he would share several suggestions with the commission, which included: banning retaliatory use, banning use near people uninvolved with the situation, and requiring protection for vulnerable people.
  • Commissioners McElhinney and Baker both recommended that the policy shouldn’t allow for property damage prevention to be a reason for using weapons.
  • Commissioner Canaday asked for more detail on training as there was only one line describing any training. 

Observations and follow up questions: 

Accessibility: Did you face any challenges that made it harder to document the meeting or that may have made it difficult for others to attend? For example: trouble accessing the location, difficulty hearing the discussion, lack of nameplates for elected officials, or the agenda being unclear, disorganized, or incomplete.

• Commissioner names weren’t shown on screen, which made identification harder.

Scene: About how many members of the public attended the meeting? If watching virtually, what was the livestream count (if applicable)? Was anyone protesting outside? 

• 187 views a day after the meeting.

Notable: Do you have any follow up questions or other observations to share? What stood out to you as interesting or confusing? Is there anything you’d like to see reporters look further into? Were there any particularly memorable quotes?

• A lot of the work appears to happen in committees, which is not broadcast.

How to get involved:

When is the next meeting for this board/committee? Any upcoming public hearings? Online surveys? 

• The CCPO will hold a public hearing on Monday, May 11 at 6 p.m. at the Public Service Center. Topics include MPD’s domestic violence response, duty to intervene and tension with separation ordinance, and equity, which includes general officer obligations, non-discriminatory policing, MPD’s commitment to impartial enforcement of laws and ongoing issues with MPD culture.

Related: Twin Cities Documenters report: Minneapolis explores progressive income tax, other new revenue sources

More context:

Read Documenter Glen Johnson’s full notes here. The notes include links to the full video, agenda and timestamps to help you navigate the recording. Want to become a Documenter? You can start by making an account here.

For more updates from Documenters, follow us on Facebook, Bluesky and Instagram.

Related