International- The
Minneapolis Police Department Chief filed a civil suit against the department alleging discrimination against people of color including black officers in 2007, CNN reported. - The suit claimed that black officers were disciplined more harshly and more frequently than their white colleagues. The case was dismissed and settled out of court for more than $800,000.
- Excessive force complaints against Minneapolis officers were common, specifically from African-American residents, The New York Times reported.
- Derek Chauvin, the ex-police officer charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter tied to
George Floyd 's death had 18 complaints against him prior to the incident.
Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo was one of five black police officers to bring a civil suit against the department alleging discrimination against people of color including black officers in 2007, CNN reported.
According to The New York Times, the department had a long history of accusations of abuse before video emerged of the violent arrest of George Floyd, which led to his death.
Orradondo fired all four officers involved at the incident relating to the death of George Floyd.
But protestors across the US are calling for a more comprehensive reform of police.
The Times reported that excessive force complaints against Minneapolis officers were common, specifically from African-American residents.
Derek Chauvin, the officer seen in the video pinning Floyd's neck with his knee, had 18 complaints against him, Insider previously reported. According to the Times, three of the reports led to reprimands for his language and tone.
Chauvin has been charged with third-degree murder in the Floyd case.
Several Minneapolis residents of color told the Times they've had forceful interactions with the local police.
"The truth is we do not have a good history," Jamar B. Nelson, a longtime community activist told the Times. "The biggest complaint is that the community feels the Police Department is racist, bigoted and uncaring about the black community."
Tiffany Roberson told the Times that the video of Floyd reminded her of an incident when an officer pinned her to the hood of a car 20 years ago, and another incident where her younger brother was shot and killed during an altercation with an officer five years ago.
"Watching the video, I saw my brother's face," Roberson, who is black, told the Times as she broke down in tears.
"The relationship that the black community has with Minneapolis police is just to stay away. There is no trust. There is no rapport."
Attorney John Klassen, who represented the officers, told CNN that the five officers filed the civil lawsuit based on "their own experiences on the force from when they were recruits training through their present statuses at the time in '07."
Klassen told CNN that the officers dealt with their own "employment discrimination" while also "watching the every day, every week, every year actions of white officers against citizens of color."
The complaint alleged that black officers were disciplined more often and much harsher for similar or more serious misconduct than white officers.
It also claimed that several white officers were involved in "serious misconduct" such as "supplying narcotics and alcohol to minor-age strippers" and would make "discriminatory comments about citizens of color ." The document said they weren't subjected to the same harsh disciplinary measures as black officers.
The complaint was dismissed in 2009, and settled out of court for more than $800,000.
Read the original article on Insider