Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) wrote a letter to the United States Attorney General Merrick Garland, asking him to expand the DOJ investigation into Minnesota Police Departments.
The investigation was initially requested for the Minneapolis police force after the death of George Floyd in May 2020, but Omar wants the investigation to cover “Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), Minnesota State Patrol (SP), Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO), the Brooklyn Center Police Department (BCPD), the Richfield Police Department (RPD), the Edina Police Department (EPD) and the St. Anthony Police Department (SAPD).”
Omar explains that those specific police departments are responsible for the deaths of Black men such as Philando Castile, Brian Quinones, Daunte Wright and others and should be investigated.
Within the letter, signed by 20 other Minnesota lawmakers, Omar condemned the use of non-lethal means of crowd dispersion during the various riots and protests that have taken place on Minnesota streets over the last year, such as tear gas and rubber bullets, calling it “egregious militarized violence.” She said that “These [racial] issues are visible both in proactive law enforcement settings like traffic stops and arrests, but also in the law enforcement response to protests shining a light on these injustices.”
She writes, “The law enforcement response to the mass movement that has arisen in opposition to police killings and violent over-policing of BIPOC communities has also been met with extreme and unnecessary force.” Omar also made the claim that “Minnesota has some of the nation’s worst and most persistent racial disparities.”
The letter was signed by various Minnesota State Senators and Representatives as well as Council Members from city councils. Laura Ingraham released the full list of lawmakers who signed this letter and their contact information.
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Hayley Tschetter is a reporter with The Minnesota Sun | Star News Network and The College Fix. She graduated with a degree in Communications from the University of Northwestern-St. Paul. Send news tips to [email protected].
Photo “Ilhan Omar” by Ilhan Omar.
