The Minneapolis Police Conduct Oversight Commission released a report this week entitled “The Complaint Filing Experience” after receiving numerous complaints saying that the process for reporting police misconduct was flawed. The PCOC sent testers to each precinct who asked to file complaints. Individuals should be allowed to file in-person complaints at all precincts however in 13 of the 15 attempts, complainants were not offered the opportunity to file a complaint at the precinct. Testers were often told that no paper forms were available or that they needed to file their complaint at another precinct despite policy that states complaints should be accepted any precinct regardless of where the incident occurred.
The ACLU-MN believes that it is critical for a healthy relationship between the community and police that filing a complaint be accessible and easy as we often refer individuals to file complaints against officers when we hear about misconduct. Community members must feel like officers are held accountable when they have wronged individuals.
After reviewing the report the PCOC has made several recommendations to remedy the problem. We hope that that the Minneapolis Police Department and the City of Minneapolis follow the recommendations laid out in the report and work quickly to ensure filing a complaint becomes more accessible.
The PCOC will discuss the report at their meeting on Tuesday, August 9, at 6:00 p.m. in Room 241 of Minneapolis City Hall.