Over the past two years, the Twin Cities have witnessed a series of high-profile police killings of Black men: George Floyd, Dolal Idd, Daunte Wright, Winston Smith, and now most recently, Amir Locke, a 22 year old who was fatally shot during a no-knock warrant search in downtown Minneapolis. The campus community has participated in protests for justice and accountability in the wake of these killings. Students have turned out in high numbers to citywide demonstrations and protests on their own campus. Yet, the University of Minnesota that they attend has not mirrored such sympathies for justice and change.
Initially, during the first days of the uprising, University President Joan Gabel promised to limit the University’s relationship with the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD), ending their contract for policing campus sporting events. However, she announced in June 2021 that there would be renewed collaboration between MPD and the University of Minnesota Police Department (UMPD). Instead of listening to the explicit demands of students to decrease funding for campus police and establish more transparent methods of accountability, Gabel has prioritized more visible police presence.
UMPD has also played a notable role in the suppression of protests during this time. Beyond initial confrontations with students during the uprising, where UMPD was deployed, the department was present on the night of Nov. 4, 2020, when over 600 protesters were arrested en masse on I-94. UMPD also participates in the West Command Task Force, a grouping of metro police departments created to respond to large protests. University Officers were present in the detainment of protesters in Brooklyn Center after the murder of Daunte Wright, protests which were heavily attended by University of Minnesota students. University administration could easily divest from this task force and end the collaboration of UMPD with other metro departments, as students have demanded at multiple campus protests, but they refuse to do so. As it stands, the campus community has no power to influence decisions about the police force that patrols their own campus and engages in arresting protesters in their city.
Given this lack of accountability, University community members should have the power to decide how they are policed, not just make recommendations to a University president and Board of Regents they didn’t elect.
This idea is not a new one. “Community control of the police” was a concept proposed by Black liberation groups during the 1960s. The Chicago chapter of the Black Panther Party developed it further by creating an outline for a council of elected representatives who would be able approve or veto police department policies and take action after police misconduct.
Today, organizations across the country are continuing to fight for community control of the police. Twin Cities Coalition for Justice 4 Jamar (TCC4J) is currently attempting to pass a charter amendment that would create a Civilian Police Accountability Council (CPAC), a board much like what the Black Panthers proposed. In 2021, a coalition of groups in Chicago were able to pass similar legislation creating a council of mayor-selected representatives with the power to draft and approve Chicago Police Department policy and nominate candidates for positions like superintendent.
The University should also implement a CPAC consisting of University community members who are policed by the UMPD. Members elected to the council would include students, staff, and faculty, as well as residents from nearby neighborhoods like Cedar-Riverside that the UMPD patrols. This council would have the decision-making power to investigate police misconduct, take disciplinary action, change UMPD policy, decide the UMPD’s budget, and approve or veto UMPD job applicants. A CPAC would give University community members full decision making power over campus policing, creating a true democratic process for police accountability that would set a precedent for other campuses.
When asked about CPAC in a recent interview, Joan Gabel responded by saying that only one small group of students resonates with this demand, and that in order to serve the whole campus community, administration must uphold shared governance. In saying this, she contradicts herself. Right now, there is no shared governance when it comes to policing. Administration has sole decision-making power. The only option available to the University community is to make recommendations which the president and Board of Regents may easily dismiss. Even the MSafe Implementation Team is ultimately advisory to the University president. If Joan Gabel truly wanted to uphold shared governance, she would give the University community the ability to directly elect their own police accountability council.
Students for a Democratic Society is collecting petition signatures for a referendum on CPAC to appear on the Spring 2022 All Campus Elections Ballot. Current University of Minnesota students can sign this petition at: z.umn.edu/cpac
This OpEd essay was submitted by Olivia Crull and Midori Van Alstine, members of the University of Minnesota’s Students for a Democratic Society.
This OpEd essay has been lightly edited for style and clarity.