The Hennepin County Chiefs of Police Association (HCCPA) as well as a group of mayors within the county wrote letters to the Hennepin County Attorney Michael Freeman asking for accountability and more prosecution of criminals.
The HCCPA wrote it believes law enforcement officers are working hard to apprehend criminals, but that “those criminals are consistently not being held accountable for their actions after they are arrested.”
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“As law enforcement leaders, we have been working diligently with our teams every day to combat this trend and keep our communities safe, while also being focused on law enforcement reform to ensure that all in our communities are treated fairly and respectfully,” the letter says.
Mayors from Maple Grove, New Hope, Crystal, Brooklyn Park, Plymouth, Hopkins, and Minnetonka all signed a second letter also addressed to Freeman, asking for similar cooperation.
Yesterday it was the Chiefs, today the mayors of Maple Grove, New Hope, Crystal, BP, Plymouth, Hopkins, and Minnetonka write to Henn. Co. Atty Mike Freeman: "Our police chiefs have expressed their concerns with a lack of involvement or partnership with HCAO…" pic.twitter.com/a7tfs5PgyY
— Tom Lyden (@LydenFreeAgent) January 6, 2022
They wrote, “There is a sense of lawlessness and lack of accountability that is stemming from criminals who commit crimes and then are being turned back into the street in short order – with little or no consequence – and that conduct is repeated.”
The mayors expressed concerns about Freeman’s “list of crimes for which he will no longer request bail at a news conference Wednesday afternoon and two other prosecutors said they will be pressing for more changes.”
They added that while they do support criminal justice reform, it cannot be at the expense of the safety of the communities. The politicians asked that Freeman sit down for a meeting with them to “review matters.”
These two letters followed a letter written by the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association “to the Hennepin and Ramsey County attorneys addressing their failure to prosecute some felony crimes.”
The Minnesota Sun reported the association wrote that it is “especially concerned” that “prosecutorial policies are failing to hold criminals accountable for their actions.”
At this point, the Hennepin County attorney has not publicly responded to the letters or requests.
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Hayley Feland is a reporter with The Minnesota Sun and The Wisconsin Daily Star | Star News Network. Follow Hayley on Twitter or like her Facebook page. Send news tips to [email protected].
Photo “Michael Freeman” by Tony Webster CC BY-SA 2.0.
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