Park Board Votes to Reunite with the Minneapolis Police Department

4/21/2022-Written by S.J.

Two years ago, in the wake of the murder of George Floyd at the hands of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis Park Board voted to diminish the police department’s role within the park system. Now, a committee on an overwhelmingly new park board has voted to repeal that decision.

On June 3, 2020, less than two weeks after George Floyd’s death, the Minneapolis Park Board voted unanimously to distance itself from the city’s police department. The resolution stated, “Recent actions by the Minneapolis Police Department in the alleged murder of George Floyd while in police custody have severely undermined community trust in, and sense of safety around, Minneapolis Police.”

During a meeting before the 2020 vote, Londel French, who was, at that time, a Park Board Commissioner, insisted, "What I've been telling people for years and years and years is, the police are hurting us," He continued matter-of-factly, "The police deserted us."

The park board wasn’t alone in its decision to cut ties with the Minneapolis Police in the summer of 2020. Many major establishments including the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis Public Schools, the Minneapolis Institute of Art, and the Walker Art Center, among others, announced similar decisions.

At the time, the park board’s decision was praised as taking a stand against police violence and taking steps to ensure the safety of all members of the community. However, the truth was, the park board’s vote did not result in a complete severing of its relationship with the police department, as many believed it would. In reality, the vote may have been largely performative.

According to the park board’s website, the resolution specified, “ceasing use of Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) officers at staff park-sanctioned events, providing a plan for alternative event safety by August 1, and instituting a moratorium on Park Police supporting or responding to any MPD calls for backup in non-violent incidents.” The park board’s web page that details the 2020 resolution also features a quote from then-Park Board President, Jono Cowgill, “The MPRB is committed to ensuring that everyone in Minneapolis feels safe in our communities. The unanimous actions by Commissioners Wednesday are a start to building a holistic approach to public safety that moves beyond police and towards restorative community justice.”

After the vote, the Minneapolis Police Department continued to respond to park-related incidents as they always had. The shift in policy mainly affected police coverage for park events. Before the vote, the Minneapolis Police worked park events with the Park Police to provide enough officers to fulfill requirements dictated by the event’s permits.

Enter COVID. As a result of capacity and event guidelines during the height of the pandemic, the parks were fairly unfazed by the new regulations. Now, as cities begin to relax their COVID regulations, events at Minneapolis parks are making a full comeback and there are no longer enough Park Police to meet permitting needs.

The Superintendent of the Minneapolis Park Board, Al Bangoura, sent out a memo on April 20, 2022, asking the Administration and Finance Committee to repeal its 2020 resolution. He explained in the memo, “As nearly all park events occur within the City of Minneapolis, ongoing coordination and cooperation with the Minneapolis Police Department is necessary for the interest of public safety.”

The Administration and Finance Committee voted to repeal the 2020 resolution, showing where their priorities lie. Park Board Commissioner and the Co-Chair of the Administration and Finance Committee, Becka Thompson, explained, “We have a great city with a lot of awesome things that people do, and they are all in jeopardy of not happening because they happen in parks.” She continued, “The Twin Cities Marathon is on the parkway, Pride is in Loring Park, those are all permitted things that require us to provide security for the vendors and, you know, the community.”

The new park board is a far cry from the one that initially passed the 2020 resolution–which included several commissioners of color. Alicia Smith is currently the only commissioner of color serving on the board.

The full park board’s nine commissioners will vote on the resolution at a meeting on May 4. The repeal will require a majority vote to pass.